The domestic refining companies, including SK Innovation, S-Oil, GS Caltex, and HD Hyundai Oilbank, have all entered the immersion cooling market, which is considered next-generation heat management technology, and are diversifying their businesses. Immersion cooling is a technology that directly immerses products in coolant, applicable in data centers and energy storage systems (ESS), which can achieve higher energy efficiency while reducing fire hazards and equipment damage compared to traditional air cooling systems or water cooling systems. It also increases economic efficiency as more equipment can be placed in a limited space.
According to industry sources on the 24th, HD Hyundai Oilbank recently announced that its immersion cooling-exclusive lubricant, "XTeer E-cooling Fluid," received certification from Green Revolution Cooling (GRC), the world's largest immersion cooling system company, under the Electrosafe program. A company official noted, "We plan to conduct verification projects with domestic data center companies soon."
With HD Hyundai Oilbank's entry into the immersion cooling market, all four domestic refining companies are now engaged in related businesses. The first to enter the immersion cooling market in the country was SK Innovation's lubricant subsidiary, SK Enmove, which invested $25 million (approximately 36 billion won) in equity with GRC in the United States back in 2022. Subsequently, SK Enmove launched a new brand, "ZIC e-FLO," last September.
GS Caltex launched the immersion cooling lubricant brand "Kixx Emersion Fluid S" last November, while S-Oil introduced its high flash point immersion cooling product "S-Oil e-Cooling Solution" in October this year, thus entering the market.
Domestic refining companies have chosen immersion cooling as a future revenue source to secure stable revenue. Refineries equipped with large-scale refining facilities in Ulsan and Yeosu refine hundreds of thousands of barrels (Bbl; 1 barrel is approximately 158.9 liters) of crude oil imported from the Middle East daily to produce various petroleum products for distribution domestically or for export. However, due to the global trend toward decarbonization, facility expansion investments have stopped for about a decade, focusing only on process upgrading investments.
The refining margin, a key profitability indicator for refiners, is the amount obtained by subtracting production costs from the prices of refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel and petrochemical products. The breakeven point is generally considered to be around $4 to $5 per barrel, but in the third quarter of this year, it recorded $3.6 per barrel, indicating deteriorating profitability. An industry official said, "Refining margins are significantly affected by external factors such as geopolitical conflicts; in the past few years, international disputes have intensified, leading to increased oil price volatility and weakened front demand, making stable revenue difficult to ensure."
The lubricant business, including immersion cooling fluids, has consistently provided a certain scale of profit for refiners based on steady demand. In particular, immersion cooling is a technology applicable to both data centers and batteries, with a rapid increase in demand expected in the future.
According to Market & Market Research, a global market research firm, the immersion cooling market size is projected to grow from 500 billion won this year to approximately 42 trillion won by 2040, at an average annual growth rate of about 18.5%.
The immersion cooling technology is reported to reduce cooling expenses for data centers by 95% compared to traditional air cooling systems. An industry official said, "If lithium-ion batteries are immersed in coolant, even if a problem occurs in one battery cell and catches fire, it does not transfer to nearby cells because it is not exposed to oxygen. Immersion cooling is expected to be a technology used in electric vehicles in the future."