HD Hyundai is moving into the floating data centre market, signing an agreement with Schneider Electric to develop offshore digital infrastructure technology, according to Splash247.
The Partnership
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding holding company of HD Hyundai, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Schneider Electric to jointly develop infrastructure for floating data centres. Under the agreement, the two companies will review the infrastructure and technical requirements needed to operate data centres at sea and develop solutions suitable for offshore platform environments.
Addressing Data Centre Constraints
Floating data centres use offshore floating structures to house servers and supporting infrastructure. HD Hyundai said the concept could help address two of the biggest constraints facing land-based data centre development:
- Shortage of suitable sites
- High cost of cooling
Other Korean yards are also eyeing this market, Splash247 reported.
Technical Focus
The work will focus on integrating data centre power and cooling systems with floating offshore platform technologies. The partners also plan to share information on emerging floating data centre technologies and identify further joint research and development opportunities. Each brings core capabilities to the partnership:
| Partner | Expertise |
|---|---|
| Schneider Electric | Power, cooling and energy management for hyperscale data centres and AI infrastructure |
| HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering | Floating structure design and offshore engineering capability |
The collaboration combines Schneider Electric's experience in power, cooling and energy management for hyperscale data centres and AI infrastructure with HD Hyundai's floating structure design and offshore engineering capability.
Industry Context
Kim Hyung-kwan, chief executive of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, said the company was accelerating development of offshore data centre technology based on its accumulated design and construction capabilities in shipbuilding and floating structures. “Through this collaboration between the two companies, we will advance the core technologies that can reliably implement large-scale, high-density computing infrastructure at sea,” Kim said.
The move reflects growing interest in offshore platforms as an alternative to land-based data centres, which face increasing site scarcity and cooling demands. By leveraging shipbuilding expertise and industrial energy management, the partnership aims to enable reliable, large-scale computing at sea.
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