SUBSTRATE: MODULAR UNDERGROUND DATA CENTRES
THE CONSTRAINTAI's bottleneck is DATA CENTRE DESIGN
The current proposal is to concentrate the global economy and military command stack into AI data centres — while building much of that capacity above ground, in natural disaster zones, with no protection from drone attack.
10 YR DELAYS
Grid connection timelines are approaching a decade
79%
Of the existing data centres are in high-risk weather zones
40%
Of planned US data centres are in significant-to-very-high tornado zones
670+
Drone incursions around military and critical infra across the US, UK + EU
AND THERE ARE NEW THREAT VECTORS
■ 01 | NEW THREAT VECTOR March 2026, 3 AWS data centres were attacked by Iranian drones.
Iran labelled major cloud and tech assets "enemy technology infrastructure", claiming the facilities support U.S. military and intelligence operations in the Gulf.
MILITARY TARGETS
■ 02 | NEW THREAT VECTOR2021, US authorities arrested a man who allegedly plotted to bomb an Amazon data centre, which he believed would "kill off about 70% of the internet".
Law enforcement agencies across the US, UK, EU, Japan, South Korea and South America have explicitly warned developers that high public anger over the massive energy and water demands of AI data centres poses a risk of physical incursions and public protest movements, prompting calls for robust facility security.
SABOTAGE
SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE DATA CENTRES EXPENSIVE, AWKWARD, RISKY
The industry is exploring alternative data centre designs to address these challenges. Each approach offers potential advantages, but also introduces significant trade-offs.
Non-exhaustive list below.
ORBITAL DC✓ Free unlimited solar energy
✓ Reduced permitting friction
✓ Modular + Scalable
X Extreme maintenance challenges
X Deployment requires large, reusable rockets
X New threat vectors: Anti-Satellite Weapons, Collisions, Radiation
OFF-SHORE DC✓ Independent low-cost wave / nuclear energy
✓ Reduced permitting friction
✓ Free, unlimited cooling
✓ Modular + Scalable
X Expensive off-shore platform maintenance
X Deployment requires boats + marine operations
X New threat vectors: Piracy, Cable Exposure, Sea Water, Storms
UNDERWATER DC✓ Free, unlimited cooling
✓ Reduced permitting friction
✓ Modular
X Extreme maintenance challenge
X Deployment and scaling requires boats + marine operations
X New threat vectors: Cable Exposure, Sea Water, Underwater Drones
■ THERE IS A BETTER WAY
UNDERGROUND✓ 30-50% less energy demand
✓No grid interconnection delays or costs, uses existing headroom within local grids.
✓ Reduced permitting friction , very low visual impact and surface footprint
✓ Modular + Scalable
✓ Cooling enabled by sale of waste heat to local off-taker / landlord
✓ Conventional maintenance
✓ Resistant to extreme weather, surveillance + physical attack
✓ Combines the colocation capabilities of edge with the power of hyperscale.
X Geology + groundwater constrain some sites
X Higher upfront excavation + civil cost
X Challenging large-scale equipment replacement
SUBSTRATE
MODULAR UNDERGROUND DATA CENTRESGoing UNDERGROUND unlocks unparalleled scalability + RESILIENCE
Standardized compute platform 0.6–10 MWLARGER DIAMETER SHAFTS USED FOR LARGER CAMPUSES
10X
10x faster deployment than above-ground .
Factory-built modular units deploy in 6 months, not 6 years.
<1.06 PUE
Zero water, immersion-cooled efficiency.
High-density compute with minimal cooling overhead. Waste heat directed to off-taker or ground borehole.
LOCATION POSITIVE
Deploy anywhere. Imperceptible impact.
Resilient, community-positive compute wherever it’s needed. No freshwater use, pollution, noise or impact on views. Grid balancing and lower heating and cooling costs for off-take partners.
1GW
1GW per factory per year.
Standardised production enables industrial-scale deployment and parallel delivery.
10x faster deployment than above-ground .
Factory-built modular units deploy in 6 months, not 6 years.
10X
Zero water, Immersion-cooled efficiency.
High-density compute with minimal cooling overhead. Waste heat directed to off-taker or ground borehole.
<1.06 PUE
Deploy anywhere. Imperceptible impact.
Resilient, community-positive compute wherever it’s needed. No freshwater use, pollution, noise or impact on views. Grid balancing and lower heating and cooling costs for local off-take partners.
LOCATION POSITIVE
1GW per factory per year.
Standardised production enables industrial-scale deployment and parallel delivery.
1GW
COMMUNITY POSITIVE
Imperceptible impact. Lower bills.
No freshwater use, pollution, noise or impact on views. Grid balancing and lower heating and cooling costs for off-take partners and district thermal energy networks.
THE CAMPUS GROWS ON DEMAND
SCALEIN 3 STEPS
Drill a new shaft.
Shaft drilling and formation occur simultaneously.
01
Install and connect manufactured compute platforms.
Each shaft represents 0.6-10MW of compute, plus reusable heating and cooling energy.
02
Repeat.
Larger-diameter shafts and compute platforms are used for larger campuses.
03
CONTACT
We work with AI operators, developers, landlords, port operators, energy partners, and investors.