# Building inference data centers on the high seas

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2026-05-28
- Length: 48m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas

## Summary

Garth Sheldon-Coulson, co-founder and CEO of Panthalassa, explains how the company builds 85-meter steel 'nodes' that harness wave energy to power AI inference clusters in the deep ocean. He details the 'Ocean Hydro' technology, which uses a rigid hull shape to pump seawater into a reservoir and drive a turbine, eliminating the need for anchors or shore-based cables. Sheldon-Coulson discusses the unit economics, noting that while power costs are low (3.5-4 cents/kWh), the primary value lies in high availability and free seawater cooling for compute hardware. He outlines the company's roadmap from full-scale prototypes like Ocean 2 to the commercial Ocean 3 pilot fleet launching in late 2026, targeting long-running inference and reinforcement learning workloads.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=7) Introduction: Panthalassa's Ocean Nodes
- [3:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=225) The Physics of Ocean Hydro Power Generation
- [8:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=492) Self-Propulsion and Untethered Deployment
- [15:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=932) Wave Resource Reliability and Capacity Factors
- [21:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=1279) Unit Economics and Cost Structure
- [31:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=1863) Maintenance, Reliability, and Compute O&M
- [41:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=2463) Target Workloads: Inference and Reinforcement Learning
- [45:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2026-05-28-building-inference-data-centers-on-the-high-seas#t=2744) Prototype History and Ocean 3 Pilot Fleet

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Panthalassa (company)
- Starlink (product)
- EnergyHub (company)
- Ocean 1 (product)
- Ocean 2 (product)
- Wave Hopper (product)
- Ocean 3 (product)
- Raytheon (company)
- Collins Aerospace (company)

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- [Powering the AI Era Sustainably: Breakthrough Climate Hardware Tech from 8 Innovators](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-12-04-powering-the-ai-era-sustainably-breakthrough-climate-hardware-tech-from-8-innova) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Onshore Wave Energy: 90% Availability, Transforming Renewable Power Generation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-10-02-onshore-wave-energy-90-availability-transforming-renewable-power-generation) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [11 Climate Hardware Companies Saving Our Planet in 2025](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-07-03-11-climate-hardware-companies-saving-our-planet-in-2025) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Episode 99: Robots mapping the deep ocean - Joe Wolfel](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-11-22-episode-99-robots-mapping-the-deep-ocean-joe-wolfel) (Robot Talk)
- [Floating Power Sources, Augmented Reality For Work, And More | Hard Tech #5](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hard-tech-podcast/2023-06-11-floating-power-sources-augmented-reality-for-work-and-more-hard-tech-5) (Hard Tech Podcast)

## Citing this page

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