San Francisco-based Aikido Technologies has revealed plans to host data centers inside its offshore wind turbines.
under offer, data center infrastructure They will be housed in submerged tanks that will keep offshore platforms afloat, power turbine servers and backup power will be provided by batteries.
The modified platform, called AO60DC, is designed to host 15-18MW wind turbines and 10-12MW of “AI-grade compute” with integrated battery storage, Aikido said in a statement. release.
“Designed for farms with IT loads ranging from 30 MW to more than 1 GW, this technology provides a path to sovereign, gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure built directly on source renewable energy,” the company said.
Aikido is currently developing a 100kW proof-of-concept unit in Norway, with a scheduled launch later this year and full-scale commercial deployment off the UK coast by 2028.
As demand for AI compute increases, companies are looking at increasingly creative locations for data centers; from elon musk Proposed space-based infrastructure Microsoft is operating infrastructure at sea level.
The rationale for offshore deployment is practical: the locations offer abundant energy, space and natural cooling, while bypassing the land, water and grid constraints that hinder traditional data center development.
Sea water also acts as a passive heat sink. Aikido said the platform’s estimated power usage effectiveness is well below industry norms. According to the seller, visual and noise concerns that typically attract local opposition have also been largely eliminated.
The semi-submersible platform is also designed around a “flat-pack” concept, which Aikido says can be assembled up to ten times faster than traditional offshore structures – targeting the accelerated development of AI infrastructure.
“Before we go off-world, we must go offshore,” Sam Kanner, CEO of Aikido Technologies, said in the release, referring to ideas from Musk and others about space-based data centers. “Aikido is well-positioned to build GW-scale AI factories faster, cleaner, cheaper and more efficiently than traditional technologies.”
