5 of the World’s Most Significant Data Centers: Giants and Underwater Innovations
When we send a message, stream a movie, or train complex AI models, we often think of the cloud as something light and airy. But the physical reality could hardly be more different.
The Internet weighs millions of tons. It is made of steel, concrete, copper, and silicon. For engineers and technical managers, this isn’t an abstract concept but a daily reality: they face physical limits such as heat buildup, limited space, and an insatiable demand for energy.
In an era where data is the new gold, traditional infrastructure is reaching its limits. Architects and planners face a monumental task. They must design systems that not only work today but can also handle the enormous peak loads of the next generation.
This leads to two extreme but fascinating developments. On the one hand, hyperscale facilities covering vast areas are being built on land. On the other, visionaries are venturing into the depths to use the sea as a natural ally against heat.
Disclaimer: The world of data centers is extremely dynamic. As new hyperscale projects are continually planned and expanded, this list provides a snapshot of some of the most significant facilities in terms of technology and scale. It is intended to illustrate modern standards and does not claim to provide up-to-the-minute or definitive data.
When Dimensions Set the Standard: 5 Giants of the Digital World
Size in the data center business is far more than mere prestige. It is a decisive factor in efficiency. The larger the campus, the more effectively economies of scale can be leveraged for energy supply and security.
We take a look at five of the world’s most renowned and technologically impressive facilities that define what’s possible today.
The Citadel Campus (Switch)
In the Nevada desert, near Reno, “The Citadel” is a digital fortress. The operator Switch is setting new standards for security and sustainability. With a planned area of over 670,000 square meters, it is one of the largest data center projects in the world.
The Tier-5 Platinum standard applied here is particularly impressive to technicians. The plant is powered 100% by renewable energy and features a redundant power supply that makes failures virtually impossible. The Citadel proves that massive scaling and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand – a principle that also applies to modern gas engine systems.
China Telecom Inner Mongolia Information Park
When it comes to sheer area, there’s usually no getting around this colossus in Hohhot. The Information Park in Inner Mongolia spans around one million square metres.
The choice of location is purely strategic: with an average temperature of just 6 °C, the region offers ideal conditions for free cooling for up to eight months a year.
This is a dream for operators who struggle daily to maintain the efficiency of their cooling systems. The system significantly reduces energy consumption for air conditioning and serves as a central backbone for digital infrastructure across the Asian region.
Utah Data Center (NSA)
The Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center in Bluffdale, Utah, is arguably the world’s best-known government data center. Although many details are classified, the technical specifications are fascinating to the energy industry: the facility requires a continuous power supply of 65 megawatts.
To guarantee absolute availability, the site is equipped with large backup generators and fuel tanks for emergency operation. It is the ultimate example of how critical infrastructure cannot exist without a reliable, motor-driven emergency power supply.
Google Data Center Hamina
In Finland, Google has shown how to intelligently repurpose existing industrial infrastructure. The Hamina data center is housed in a former paper mill. Instead of installing energy-intensive air-conditioning systems, Google uses the Gulf of Finland’s cold seawater to cool the servers.
This concept of resource efficiency—repurposing the old and upgrading it with modern technology—exactly reflects the idea of a general overhaul: a solid core (the factory or the engine block) is made fit for the future through innovative upgrades.
Meta (Facebook) Prineville Data Center
In the high desert of Oregon stands a milestone of IT history. Meta’s Prineville Data Center is the birthplace of the Open Compute Project. Here, hardware has been radically rethought: servers have been stripped of everything that doesn’t contribute to performance, maximizing airflow and efficiency.
This reduction to the essentials strongly resembles the optimization of gas engines. Only components that are perfectly matched to their intended use and that don’t waste energy will ultimately deliver maximum output.
Submerged for Greater Efficiency: The Underwater Data Center
While the giants on land continue to grow ever wider, innovative engineers are turning their attention to the 70 percent of Earth’s surface that has so far remained untapped: the oceans.
An underwater data center may at first sound like science fiction, but from a physical standpoint it is arguably the most logical solution to the thermal challenges of modern servers. Water dissipates heat far more efficiently than air, and the natural pressure at the seabed can be used constructively.
Microsoft Project Natick
With Project Natick, off the Orkney Islands in Scotland, Microsoft demonstrated that this vision works. A container holding 864 servers was submerged and operated for two years. The result surprised even skeptics: the hardware’s failure rate underwater was only one-eighth that of comparable onshore data centers.
The reasons for this are obvious and resonate with every maintenance technician: a constant ambient temperature, no human-induced vibrations, and a nitrogen-filled atmosphere that prevents corrosion and oxidation. It is the ideal environment for sensitive electronics and shows how stable conditions can extend the service life of technology.
Highlander Underwater Data Center
What began as an experiment is now a commercial reality. Off the coast of the Chinese province of Hainan, the Highlander Underwater Data Center (UDC) is being built as the world’s first commercial facility of its kind.
The modules use seawater for passive cooling, which drastically reduces electricity consumption and saves millions of litres of freshwater that would otherwise evaporate in cooling towers.
Since a large portion of the world’s population lives near coastlines, this construction method also dramatically reduces latency. It is a prime example of how technological boldness can turn a problem (heat) into a solution while conserving resources – an approach that aligns perfectly with the philosophy of improving efficiency.
The backbone of digital giants: uncompromising energy supply
Whether it’s a vast campus in the Nevada desert or a pressure-resistant container on the seabed, both concepts share a common denominator: they are extremely energy-intensive. In this industry, a power outage is the absolute worst-case scenario.
A standstill not only means data loss but also causes immense financial damage and loss of reputation. While offshore wind farms can directly supply underwater systems, land-based data centers require stable power grids and an emergency power supply that tolerates absolutely no errors.
This is where technologies that are also relevant to your daily work come into play. Gas engines serve as an indispensable backup option or, in many regions, as the primary energy source for meeting peak demand.
AI data centres in particular, which place a heavy burden on the power grid due to their enormous power density, rely on this decentralised, readily available energy. The reliability of these engines is what ensures the digital world keeps running.
Just as a farmer who cannot afford an outage of his biogas plant, the operator of a data center needs the assurance that their backup systems will deliver power immediately in an emergency.
Reliability is not a matter of size
The scale of global data giants may seem remote, but the same laws apply in the engine room. Whether it’s securing massive server farms or feeding power into the local grid, physics makes no distinction between gigawatts and kilowatts. The engine must be running.
High availability is not a luxury reserved for tech companies — it is the foundation of your economic success. At PowerUP, we support you in this. With spare parts and upgrades suitable for use in Jenbacher®, MWM®, MTU® and other engine brands, we consistently prioritize longevity. These components are specially developed alternatives from PowerUP and are not original parts from the respective engine manufacturers.
Our maintenance approach is guided by the actual condition of your system. This helps us minimize the risk of downtime so you can fully concentrate on your results. For us, technology is the driving force and efficiency is the focus.
