The South Korean economy is in a situation where it is difficult to foresee even a moment ahead, following the announcement of tariff bombs by Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, who is scheduled to take office in mid-January, and amid the impeachment proceedings against the president and acting president. Despite the chaotic situation both inside and outside the country, South Korean corporations armed with the world's best technology are challenging for the global top spot. Here, we take a look at the companies that illuminate South Korea in the world. [Editor's note]
On Dec. 4 (local time), as I drove for about 10 minutes on a country road toward the village of Botley from Fareham station in Hampshire, southern England, a grayish-white structure on a wide meadow caught my eye. As I entered along the entrance, 28 massive containers were aligned side by side, keeping their front and back spacing even on a 5,000-square-meter site.
The dimensions of the containers were 10 meters in length, 4 meters in height, and 2.5 meters in width, with a total of 210 battery packs densely loaded inside. Below the ground, complex wires connected to the Power Conversion System (PCS) were leading toward the center. Eduard Marin, chief engineer at Suir Energy in the UK, noted, “This is an Energy Storage System (ESS) power plant, for which LS ELECTRIC is in charge of EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) and engineering, and since its completion in October, we have been conducting battery cell stabilization and system testing.”
The ESS power plant installed in the UK does not generate electricity directly, but it generates revenue by storing and releasing electricity, which is why it is called a ‘power plant.’ An LS ELECTRIC official said, “The ESS stores energy and releases electricity to the power grid at the times when electricity is needed, performing functions similar to a power plant.”
LS ELECTRIC completed the construction of the ESS project worth 133.4 billion won in Botley in April 2023, about one year and six months after winning the bid. The installed equipment includes a PCS of 50 megawatts and a battery of 114 megawatt-hours, capable of supplying electricity to a total of 80,000 households for two hours during peak demand. The ESS supplies environmentally friendly electricity produced from wind and other sources in the Botley area to the transmission network of the UK’s National Grid. It was connected to the UK power system in January and is scheduled to manage integrated operations (O&M) for the next 20 years.
Typically, power grids use alternating current for long-distance transmission. Alternating current must maintain a certain frequency for quality control. The UK power grid operates at a standard frequency of 50 hertz (Hz). An LS ELECTRIC official said, “If the frequency drops below or rises above 50 Hz on the National Grid, this facility will appropriately supply power to stabilize the system as needed.”
Last January, LS ELECTRIC also secured an ESS project worth 162.1 billion won in the Widow Hill area of Burnley, UK. On Dec. 5 (local time), work was underway at the Widow Hill ESS construction site to flatten the sloping land into three staircase-like levels.
The upper and middle sections will house ESS containers, while at the very bottom will be a control room and transformer that manage the current of all ESS containers. Since this area receives frequent rainfall, there are also plans to install retaining walls at a height of 4 to 5 meters at intervals to prevent soil and debris from the upper floors from washing down.
The Widow Hill ESS power plant, constructed on a total area of 13,000 square meters, will include a Power Conversion System (PCS) of 70 megawatts and battery capacity of 167 megawatt-hours. As the scale is larger than the Botley ESS power plant, the number of ESS containers to be installed will also increase to 38. Completion is scheduled for September 2026.
Based on the two contracts in Botley and Widow Hill, LS ELECTRIC plans to expand its ESS business in the UK and Europe. Currently, the ESS market in Europe is rapidly growing due to rising international energy prices and the expansion of renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
The UK is strongly promoting a ‘net zero’ policy to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050, making it a market where renewable energy generation and ESS supply are expected to expand most rapidly. The UK government plans to increase the ESS operational capacity from 3.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) currently to 10 GWh by 2030 and 20 GWh by 2035.
Peter Dove, CEO of Solos Power, a partner in LS ELECTRIC's UK ESS projects, said, “The UK is rapidly increasing renewable energy generation, but there is a shortage of EPC contractors and electrical engineers, and local companies are also smaller than Korean corporations. LS ELECTRIC has excellent South Korean corporations and a wide network in the power value chain, so there is a significant potential for growth in the UK market.”