Samsung Heavy Industries said on the 24th that it obtained concept design approval for its in-house developed floating data center (FDC) at Data Center World (DCW 2026), held in Washington, D.C., on the 20th–23rd.
DCW 2026 is the world's largest data center exhibition, offering a look at technologies and investment directions to meet rising demand for data center infrastructure.
The FDC is a floating model of a data center, installed on rivers or at sea rather than on land. It is emerging as an alternative that can solve issues related to site acquisition, power supply, and cooling efficiency. Samsung Heavy Industries also said it can provide fast delivery by performing design, construction, and equipment integration simultaneously, and it can be equipped with its own power generation system.
Samsung Heavy Industries obtained concept design approval for a 50 MW-class FDC from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Lloyd's Register (LR) at the event.
It also signed a technical cooperation agreement with ABB, an electrification and automation corporations, to develop the FDC power system, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mustarian, a U.S. company specializing in data center project development, for FDC development in the United States.
Samsung Heavy Industries plans to push for FDC commercialization through local partnerships for power system development, operation in the United States, and permits and approvals.
An Young-gyu, head of technology development at Samsung Heavy Industries, said, "The FDC is a new business model that extends shipbuilding capabilities into the digital infrastructure industry," adding, "Combined with clean energy, it will set a new standard in the global data market and secure growth drivers."