Sealed subsea compute capsule reference design

Research goals

1. 01

   Develop a sealed subsea compute capsule reference design.

2. 02

   Compare pressure, cooling and secure operation with a land-based baseline.

Technical pathway

1. 01

   Specify pressure enclosure, corrosion protection, power and fibre interfaces.

2. 02

   Model heat rejection and integrate temperature, pressure, leak and remote fault monitoring.

3. 03

   Define thermal, pressure and leak tests and assess environmental effects, retrieval and lifecycle costs.

Expected outputs

Proposed deliverables · not completed results

1. 01

   A reference architecture with thermal and pressure test requirements.

2. 02

   A monitoring concept and environmental and lifecycle assessment; no performance improvement is guaranteed.

Progress evidence

CAII progress not verified

Available basis

The site currently documents a project concept, a proposed next milestone and external technical references only. No CAII start approval, funding record, test report or deployment evidence has been supplied. Actual progress remains unverified.

Proposed next milestone

Develop thermal and pressure test requirements and an environmental assessment scope.

Evidence needed to verify progress

• Dated project approval, scope and accountable team records.
• Traceable input data, model versions and signed test or assessment reports.
• Where applicable: permits, environmental review, deployment acceptance and written institutional agreements.

These are proposed verification requirements, not documents already received or milestones already achieved.

Verifiable technical references

References support the proposed technical pathway, not CAII project progress, partnership or certification. Publisher documents retain their original language; standards may require purchase and are not proof of compliance.

1. Microsoft Research

   Project Natick

   Primary project overview of Microsoft’s subsea datacenter research; findings cannot be assumed to apply to CAII designs.

   https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/natick/

   Open original source

   Link checked: 31 October 2026

2. Microsoft

   Microsoft finds underwater datacenters are reliable, practical and use energy sustainably

   Microsoft’s report on its two-year North Sea trial and retrieval; third-party observations, not CAII deployments or performance guarantees.

   https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/sustainability/project-natick-underwater-datacenter/

   Open original source

   Link checked: 31 October 2026