Samsung Heavy Industries is expanding global cooperation to preempt the floating data center (Floating Data Center, FDC) market, which is drawing attention as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) grows. The plan is to accelerate entry into the FDC market by building a cooperation system across the business, from project sourcing and investment to market validation and core technology development.
Samsung Heavy Industries said on the 3rd that it participated in "Posidonia 2026," the world's largest ship exhibition held in Athens, Greece, from the 1st to the 5th (local time), and signed a three-party FDC business cooperation agreement with Greek shipowner Capital and Lloyd's Register (LR) of the United Kingdom.
Under the agreement, Samsung Heavy Industries will take charge of FDC technology and construction, while Capital will handle project sourcing and investment. Lloyd's Register will cooperate on FDC-related rules and certification.
Samsung Heavy Industries also signed a separate memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LR Advisory, a consulting firm under Lloyd's Register. The two companies plan to cooperate on economic feasibility verification, including analysis of data center infrastructure and market evaluation in North America, and to establish a foundation for entering the global FDC market.
They are also promoting cooperation to secure AI server operation technology. On the 1st (local time) in Taipei, Taiwan, at "Innovate APAC 2026," an information and communications exhibition, Samsung Heavy Industries signed a joint development partnership (JDP) with Supermicro, a U.S. AI server specialist.
In a marine environment, vibration, inclination, air containing salt, and rapid humidity changes can affect the lifespan and stability of precision AI servers. Samsung Heavy Industries will develop offshore position control and salt and humidity blocking technologies, while Supermicro will verify the conditions under which AI servers can be operated stably on rivers or at sea.
An FDC is a floating model that installs a data center not on land but on rivers or at sea. As AI technology becomes commercialized and demand for data centers surges, issues with securing power and sites and cooling servers are growing, and FDCs are being discussed as an alternative that can address them. Global credit rating agency Moody's estimates that up to $3 trillion (about 4,400 trillion won) will be invested in building AI data center infrastructure by 2030.
Accordingly, Samsung Heavy Industries is assembling a global lineup for discovering FDC project investment targets, conducting market analysis and economic feasibility verification, and securing core technologies.
Choi Sung-an, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries, said, "Data centers at sea are a market of opportunity open to the shipbuilding and shipping industries," adding, "We will take the lead in entering the FDC market through global cooperation and build a unique position."