Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to open Hong Kong's first data center cooled with recycled water, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. This development was detailed in a company press release.
Data centers are significant consumers of water, and their demand is increasingly scrutinized in regions with stressed supplies. According to Bloomberg, large facilities can require millions of gallons of water daily for cooling, raising sustainability concerns as the number of global data centers continues to rise. Cities such as Phoenix, Singapore, and Amsterdam have already begun limiting or conditioning data center expansion due to water use concerns. AWS’s initiative in Hong Kong represents an important shift towards more sustainable practices.
Hong Kong faces unique challenges regarding its water supply, making diversification critical. The South China Morning Post reports that up to 70% of Hong Kong’s potable water comes from imports from mainland China under the Dongjiang Agreement, leaving the city vulnerable to climate variability and geopolitical risks. The government is investing in water reclamation projects to expand reclaimed water use for non-potable needs. AWS’s project supports these objectives by piloting industrial-scale applications.
AWS's efforts in water stewardship are part of a broader global push to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations. Amazon Sustainability indicates that AWS already uses recycled water at 24 facilities worldwide, saving billions of liters of potable water annually. The company has committed to quadrupling the number of sites using recycled water by 2030 and becoming water positive within the same timeframe.
Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc., is recognized as the world’s leading provider of cloud infrastructure services. According to Synergy Research Group, AWS accounted for about 30% of the global cloud infrastructure market in Q2 2025, ahead of Microsoft Azure at roughly 20% and Google Cloud at around 13%. With more than 240 fully featured services offered across 117 Availability Zones in 37 regions, AWS combines scale with sustainability to serve millions of customers across industries worldwide.