HD Hyundai Partners with Schneider Electric for Floating Data Center Tech

HD Hyundai, through its shipbuilding intermediate holding company HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD Hyundai), is venturing into the development of core technologies for "data centers on the sea." The company announced an MOU with Schneider Electric, a global data center infrastructure solutions provider headquartered in France, to jointly develop floating data center (FDC) infrastructure technology.

The agreement was signed at the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, with key representatives from both companies in attendance. FDCs are seen as an ideal next-generation data center model, designed to float on offshore structures. This approach promises to resolve the challenges faced by traditional land-based data centers, including difficulties in securing land and the substantial costs associated with server cooling.

Schneider Electric, a leader in data center power, cooling, and energy management, brings extensive experience in building large-scale data centers and AI infrastructure. The company is actively pursuing the emerging FDC market. Through this partnership, HD Hyundai and Schneider Electric aim to combine HD Hyundai's expertise in designing and constructing floating structures with Schneider Electric's advanced infrastructure solutions.

Challenges for FDCs include mitigating low-frequency vibrations from waves, shielding against salinity and humidity, and protecting marine ecosystems. The collaboration will focus on reviewing infrastructure and technology requirements for FDC implementation and developing optimal solutions tailored for offshore environments. The ultimate goal is to establish integrated design capabilities that merge data center power and cooling infrastructure with offshore platform technology, enabling stable, high-density computing at sea.

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HD Hyundai is accelerating the development of offshore data center technology based on its accumulated expertise in designing and constructing floating structures in the shipbuilding and offshore sectors. Through this collaboration between the two companies, we will advance the core technologies that can stably implement large-scale, high-density computing infrastructure on the sea.