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Newsletter N°90 - June 2026
🔋 Data Centers: Floating Data Centers: A New Growth Lane for Korean Shipbuilders
The surge in AI data center demand is turning floating data centers into a potential new business line for Korea’s shipbuilding industry.
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Floating data centers are being considered as an alternative to land-based data centers, which face site constraints, long licensing periods, and increasing pressure from cooling costs. Built at sea, they could reduce land dependency, ease some permitting burdens, and enable faster construction.
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Korea’s three major shipbuilders — Samsung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean — have received early-stage inquiries related to floating data centers this year. All three have either entered or are reviewing the business.
A bird's-eye view of a floating data center (FDC) being developed by Samsung Heavy Industries. (Photo provided by Samsung Heavy Industries)
Samsung Heavy Industries is moving the fastest. The company partnered with OpenAI in October last year to cooperate on floating data center development. It has also received Approval in Principle for a 50 MW-class floating data center from the American Bureau of Shipping and Lloyd’s Register.
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The core advantage is cooling. Land-based data centers use a significant share of their power consumption for cooling, while floating data centers could use seawater to improve cooling efficiency and reduce energy loss. Their mobility is another strength, allowing capacity to be relocated depending on demand.
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For shipbuilders, the opportunity fits existing capabilities in ship and offshore structure design. Several formats are being discussed, including newbuild vessels, offshore plant-type structures, converted second-hand ships, and submersible designs.
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The market sees floating data centers as a potential high-profit business. Data center projects often require large-scale volume orders, which could support stable sales and improve profitability. Korean shipbuilders could also benefit from group-level synergies, since floating data centers require power generation, power distribution, and specialized equipment. Samsung Heavy Industries is already developing the concept with Samsung C&T and Samsung Electronics.
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Internationally, the trend is already visible. The U.S. has seen floating data center demonstration projects, while Singapore has begun design work for an offshore concept. In Europe, the same cooling logic is appearing through land-based data centers located near canals or water sources, showing that the broader market is also looking to water as a way to reduce server cooling costs.
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The opportunity is promising, but still early. Marine corrosion, weather exposure, and long-term operational reliability remain obstacles before floating data centers can reach full commercialization.