Japan Data Center Update 13: New Data Center Models Emerge as Land, Cooling, and Grid Constraints Tighten

Japan Data Center Update 13: New Data Center Models Emerge as Land, Cooling, and Grid Constraints Tighten

MOL, Hitachi Target Floating Data Centers to Ease Urban Deployment Bottlenecks

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Hitachi, and Hitachi Systems have signed a basic agreement to jointly develop a “floating data center” by converting existing vessels. The concept envisions deployment in ports and rivers, with the floating design allowing relocation in response to demand fluctuations. It faces fewer constraints related to site availability and water resources for cooling. Reusing existing ship hulls can reduce both environmental impact and construction costs. The project targets operations from FY2027 onward.

In metropolitan areas, challenges such as securing large-scale land for data centers, ensuring access to cooling water, and obtaining community consent have become increasingly prominent, positioning floating data centers as a viable solution.

An image of a floating data center using a retrofitted vessel.

Distributed Data Centers Proven Viable via IOWN-Based Interconnection

QTnet, a subsidiary of Kyushu Electric Power Group, announced the results of a demonstration connecting two data centers in Fukuoka and Tokyo. By linking GPUs (graphics processing units) located in Fukuoka with storage systems in Tokyo that store computational outputs, the company evaluated the training performance of large language models (LLMs). Compared with configurations where these components are co-located, the performance degradation was limited to around 0.5%.

The results confirm the practicality of “distributed data centers,” where such components are deployed across separate locations without incurring significant communication latency. The two DCs were connected using an all-photonics network (APN), a core technology of NTT’s next-generation high-speed communication infrastructure, IOWN.

NEC Pivots to Partner-Integrated Data Center Model as Competition Intensifies

NEC has revamped its data center strategy to expand its digital transformation (DX) business. Rather than relying solely on owning DC assets, the company will shift to a “best mix” model that strengthens collaboration with domestic and international partners. Amid rapidly growing DC demand, with new entrants from other industries and large-scale investments accelerating, NEC aims to enhance advanced services such as high-density servers while improving capital efficiency.
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Japan Data Center Update 13: New Data Center Models Emerge as Land, Cooling, and Grid Constraints Tighten