# Drogue Raises $20 Million and Plans Ocean-Thermal Data Center at Sea By John Kim Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/57003 Published: 2026-11-13T20:20:47.000Z Updated: 2026-11-13T20:20:47.000Z Section: Business > The startup plans to send a multi-megawatt prototype aboard a conventional ship in early 2028. Its design would use ocean water to cool servers and generate power. Drogue has raised $20 million, co-founder and CEO Sam Sipe said, as it develops an ocean-thermal data-center concept that combines server cooling with power generation. The startup plans to send a multi-megawatt prototype to sea in early 2028 aboard a conventional ocean-going ship. Sipe said Drogue is in the process of buying its first vessel and has received preliminary “approval in principle” from the American Bureau of Shipping. Later versions could use floating structures resembling offshore oil platforms, he said. In the proposed design, surface water would first cool the servers, then carry heat to ammonia in a loop. The ammonia would turn to vapor and drive a turbine. Water drawn from 1,000 meters below the surface would cool the ammonia back into liquid. The system uses ocean thermal energy conversion, which generates electricity from temperature differences between surface water and deeper water. The technology is most viable in tropical regions where that difference stays above 20°C year-round. Deep ocean water averages about 4°C (39°F). Drogue’s named investors include XYZ Venture Capital, Toyota Ventures, Tamarack Global, Dream, FDVC, Garuda Ventures, Flexcap, Boost VC and Slow Ventures. The company’s approach enters a market where connecting new U.S. data centers to the grid can take as long as seven years, a constraint covered in [earlier reporting on U.S. data center power markets](). Sipe described the sector as “a real estate game.” Drogue’s next stated step is sending the shipboard prototype to sea in early 2028. ## Links in this article - [earlier reporting on U.S. data center power markets](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/23545)