HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding holding company has teamed up with Schneider Electric to develop floating data-centre technology, pushing one of South Korea’s biggest shipbuilding groups deeper into the infrastructure race behind artificial intelligence.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding with Schneider Electric on 7 July at HD Hyundai’s Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The agreement was announced by Schneider Electric Korea on 8 July.
The companies said they will jointly develop core infrastructure for floating data centres, combining HD KSOE’s shipbuilding and offshore engineering expertise with Schneider Electric’s power, cooling, control and software systems.
The work will cover offshore data-centre architecture, technical requirements and engineering solutions designed for floating platform environments. The partners also plan to share technical findings and look for further joint research and development projects. The deal comes as rising AI computing demand intensifies pressure on land, power supply and cooling capacity for conventional data centres.
Schneider Electric Korea said floating data centres are drawing attention because offshore sites can use seawater-based cooling and offer greater flexibility for expansion than land-based facilities.
HD KSOE is HD Hyundai’s intermediate holding company for shipbuilding and offshore engineering, with businesses spanning shipbuilding, offshore plants, engines and machinery, and energy-related technologies.
Schneider Electric is a France-based energy technology group focused on electrification, automation and digitalisation, with 160,000 employees and 2025 revenue of €40bn.