Microsoft Abandons Subsea Datacenter Project

Microsoft has announced the conclusion of its innovative underwater datacentre project in the UK. The Natick project, which took place from 2018 to 2020, aimed to test a sealed subsea datacentre off the coast of the Shetland Isles. The project yielded promising results, with the servers in Natick Northern Isles exhibiting a failure rate of only 1/8th that of the land-based control group. This impressive performance was attributed to the constant temperature and the unique environment created by sealing the servers in an inert nitrogen atmosphere within the subsea datacentre.

As part of the project's conclusion, Microsoft has outlined plans for the responsible disposal of the infrastructure used in the Natick project. The steel pressure vessel, heat exchangers, servers, and all other components will be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. Additionally, efforts are underway to restore the seabed to its original state prior to the deployment of the subsea datacentre. This commitment to sustainability underscores Microsoft's dedication to minimizing the environmental impact of its technological innovations.

In a statement regarding the future of underwater datacentres, Microsoft emphasized its ongoing commitment to research and development in this area. While the company currently does not have operational datacentres in the water, it intends to leverage the insights gained from Project Natick to explore new concepts related to data centre reliability and sustainability. Liquid immersion cooling, for example, is one area of interest that could benefit from the learnings of the Natick project.

Looking ahead, Microsoft's research and development efforts are shifting towards generative AI and the evolving data centre requirements for processing vast amounts of data. The lessons learned from the Natick project, particularly in thermal management and operational efficiency, are expected to inform future innovations in data centre technology. These advancements are crucial as Microsoft prepares to meet the growing demand for processing power, including the anticipated requirements for post-quantum encryption.

Noelle Walsh, the head of Microsoft's Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) division, reflected on the success of the Natick project and its implications for future initiatives. In a recent interview, Walsh stated, "I'm not building subsea datacentres anywhere in the world. My team worked on it, and it worked. We learned a lot about operations below sea level and vibration and impacts on the server. So we'll apply those learnings to other cases." This pragmatic approach highlights Microsoft's commitment to leveraging past experiences to drive innovation and efficiency in its data centre operations.