"40,000 volts."
On the 1st floor of the HD Hyundai Electric Cheongju distribution campus plant on the 25th. An employee on one side shouted loud enough for nearby staff to hear over the factory noise. A crackling sound spread as the voltage was raised to 40,000 volts. It was the process of verifying whether a breaker made on-site could withstand 40,000 volts (40 kV) for one minute.
HD Hyundai Electric makes medium- and low-voltage breakers at the Cheongju distribution campus. Breakers, which are divided into medium- and low-voltage and high-voltage types depending on voltage, are switches that open and close the path of electric current.
Ordinarily, breakers simply turn the current flow on and off. But in dangerous situations—such as overcurrent when too much electricity flows beyond what a wire can withstand, or a short circuit when multiple stripped wires touch—they automatically cut off the power.
Several breakers are housed inside the main electrical panel near a home's shoe cabinet or entrance. That's why the main panel trips when a typical household turns on power-hungry appliances like an air conditioner, induction cooktop, dryer, and hair dryer at the same time in summer.
Medium- and low-voltage breakers are installed in homes, shops, and small factories, while high-voltage breakers are used in places that use 1 kV or higher, such as large factories, railways, and substations.
Because of this, breakers undergo tests during manufacturing to withstand high voltages beyond normal operating levels. For vacuum circuit breakers (VCB), a type of medium- and low-voltage breaker, HD Hyundai Electric tests whether they can withstand up to 80 kV.
◇ "Power renaissance" expands from transformers to distribution equipment
Electricity is generated at power plants and goes through the stages of generation→transmission→substation→distribution before reaching final users such as homes and factories. Extra-high-voltage transformers, for which Korea's power equipment makers including HD Hyundai Electric have recently been winning orders in places such as the United States, are mainly used at the generation stage.
Among breakers, high-voltage breakers are needed in the transmission and substation stages. Medium- and low-voltage breakers, distribution boards—the "extra-large main panels"—and power control systems are used at the distribution stage.
HD Hyundai Electric is looking beyond generation and transmission to focus on distribution. At the center are artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. AI data centers, which must receive power safely around the clock, require the installation of distribution equipment such as medium- and low-voltage breakers. In addition, by unit count, more distribution equipment is needed than extra-high-voltage transformers.
At a press briefing at the Cheongju distribution campus, Lee Chang-ho, head of the distribution business at HD Hyundai Electric (executive vice president), said, "For example, if one data center uses one to two extra-high-voltage transformers, distribution transformers are installed in units of 10 to 20 for power dispersion, and for each distribution transformer, dozens of distribution boards are installed in dozens." He added, "Based on demand volume, power equipment including extra-high-voltage transformers is at the top of the tree, and distribution equipment is at the bottom in a tree structure."
He went on, "Because of the tree structure, demand for distribution equipment is increasing along with the expansion of the AI data center market," adding, "The Cheongju distribution campus was built to respond to the rise in global demand."
◇ Cheongju distribution campus secures delivery lead-time competitiveness that surpasses top-tier global firms
HD Hyundai Electric completed and began operating the Cheongju distribution campus in Nov. last year. The total investment was 116.1 billion won, and on an 85,553-square-meter (25,880-pyeong) site, it built a 22,743-square-meter (6,880-pyeong) plant for medium- and low-voltage breakers.
HD Hyundai Electric integrated medium- and low-voltage breaker production, design, and logistics facilities that had been scattered across Anseong, Ulsan, and Busan into the Cheongju distribution campus. Here, HD Hyundai Electric produces more than 50,000 types of medium- and low-voltage breakers, ranging from residential to industrial use.
Last year, it obtained UL certification required for distribution and delivery in the North American market and is preparing to target the North American distribution equipment market. Lee said, "The North American data center market, including Canada, is our No. 1 target," adding, "We are also watching Central America, Europe, and the Middle East."
HD Hyundai Electric is touting short delivery lead times as a competitive edge compared with existing global leaders in distribution equipment. Lee said, "For the 38 kV VCB, a high-spec product for data centers, I understand that top-tier global firms require more than a year for delivery," adding, "With the Cheongju distribution campus boosting our capacity, HD Hyundai Electric is offering lead times at about half those of competitors."
On the 1st floor of the Cheongju distribution campus medium- and low-voltage breaker plant there are five lines, and on the 2nd floor there are 16 lines in operation. Annual production capacity is 8.5 million units, up 70% from 5 million, expanding the ability to meet demand. HD Hyundai Electric plans to increase annual capacity to 13 million units by 2030.
Because the power-related market is directly tied to safety, barriers to entry have been high. But with a construction boom in AI data centers and demand for replacing aging power grids, it has now become difficult to procure power and distribution equipment. As a result, the market has shifted from buyer-led to supplier-led.
Lee said, "Previously, because buyers preferred verified suppliers, there was a practice of sticking with existing vendors, so top-tier global firms dominated the market, but now the supply chain is being reorganized," adding, "Speed is the essence of AI. As delivery times at existing global companies lengthen and other response issues arise, there is demand for new sources of supply." He said, "Once verified, we can become a significant supplier," adding, "There is an opportunity now."
◇ Business portfolio concentrated in power equipment expected to diversify with distribution equipment
HD Hyundai Electric plans to diversify its business portfolio by increasing orders for distribution equipment. Looking at the 2025 sales mix by product group, power equipment (extra-high-voltage transformers, high-voltage breakers, etc.) accounts for an overwhelming 69.5%. Distribution equipment (switchgear, medium- and low-voltage breakers, power control systems, etc.) accounts for 16.1%, and rotating equipment such as motors accounts for 14.4%.
Lee said, "Continuing investment in distribution equipment, including building the Cheongju distribution campus, is a strategy to enhance the stability of our business portfolio," adding, "Sales in the distribution equipment sector have been steadily trending upward, and with new demand from data centers being added, we expect the distribution equipment sector to become one pillar of growth going forward."
Lee added, "In the mid to long term, if the sales share of distribution equipment expands to about 30%, it will complement our power equipment-centered revenue structure and raise the overall stability of the company."
HD Hyundai Electric is also reviewing consolidating its switchgear and distribution transformer plants in Ulsan into the Cheongju distribution campus to grow its distribution equipment business.
Lee said, "It's hard to speak definitively because we have not finalized specific investment plans or production line expansion measures internally," but added, "Because our long-term goal is to produce a variety of distribution equipment at the Cheongju distribution campus, we named the facility a distribution campus rather than a medium- and low-voltage breaker plant."