"40,000 volts."
On the first floor of the HD Hyundai Electric Cheongju distribution campus plant on the 25th. An employee on one side shouted loud enough for nearby colleagues to hear over the factory noise. Then a "sizzle" spread as the voltage was raised to 40,000 volts. It was the process of verifying whether a breaker made on-site could withstand a voltage of 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.
A breaker normally has the simple role of turning the current on and off. When dangerous situations arise, such as overcurrent with too much electricity flowing beyond what the wire can withstand, or a short in which several stripped wires touch, it automatically cuts off the power.
Several breakers are housed in the fuse box near a home's shoe cabinet or entrance. That is why the fuse box trips when a typical household in summer turns on power-hungry appliances like an air conditioner, induction cooktop, dryer, and hair dryer at the same time.
Medium- and low-voltage breakers are installed in homes, shops, and small factories, while high-voltage breakers are used in large factories, railways, and substations that use voltages of 1 kV or more.
Because of this, breakers undergo tests during manufacturing to withstand high voltage beyond their normal operating voltage. For vacuum circuit breakers (VCB), a type of medium- and low-voltage breaker, HD Hyundai Electric tests whether they can endure 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 → transformation → distribution before it reaches end-use locations such as homes and factories. Ultra-high-voltage transformers, for which domestic power equipment companies such as HD Hyundai Electric have recently continued to win orders in places like the United States, are mainly used at the generation stage.
Among breakers, high-voltage breakers are needed at the transmission and transformation stages. Medium- and low-voltage breakers, switchboards—the "extra-large fuse boxes"—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 24 hours a day, require the installation of distribution equipment such as medium- and low-voltage breakers. In addition, by unit count, more distribution equipment is needed than ultra-high-voltage transformers.
Lee Chang-ho, Deputy Minister of HD Hyundai Electric's distribution business (executive vice president), said at a press briefing at the Cheongju distribution campus, "For example, if one data center installs one or two ultra-high-voltage transformers, it installs distribution transformers in units of 10 to 20 for power dispersion, and dozens of switchboards are installed per distribution transformer," adding, "Based on demand volume, power equipment including ultra-high-voltage transformers sit at the top of the tree, and distribution equipment sits at the bottom—like a tree structure."
He added, "Because of the tree structure, demand for distribution equipment is increasing along with the expansion of the AI data center market," and "The Cheongju distribution campus was built to respond to rising global demand."
◇ Cheongju distribution campus secures lead-time competitiveness surpassing top global companies
HD Hyundai Electric completed and began operating the Cheongju distribution campus in Nov. last year. With a total investment of 116.1 billion won, it built a medium- and low-voltage breaker plant of 22,743 square meters (6,880 pyeong) on a site of 85,553 square meters (25,880 pyeong).
HD Hyundai Electric integrated medium- and low-voltage breaker production, design, and logistics facilities 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 those for dwellings 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. The executive vice president said, "The North American data center market, including Canada, is our top target," adding, "We are also watching Central America, Europe, and the Middle East."
HD Hyundai Electric touts short lead times as a competitive edge compared with existing global leaders in distribution equipment. The executive vice president said, "For the 38 kV VCB, a high-spec product for data centers, I understand the lead time at top-tier global companies takes more than a year," adding, "Based on the expanded production capacity through the Cheongju distribution campus, HD Hyundai Electric is offering lead times at about half those of competitors."
On the first floor of the Cheongju distribution campus medium- and low-voltage breaker plant, five lines are running, and on the second floor, 16 lines. Annual production capacity is 8.5 million units, up 70% from the previous 5 million, expanding supply responsiveness. HD Hyundai Electric plans to increase capacity to 13 million units annually by 2030.
Because the power-related market is directly tied to safety, entry barriers had been high. But with the AI data center construction boom and demand to replace aging power grids coinciding, it has become difficult to procure power and distribution equipment. As a result, the market has shifted from buyer-driven to supplier-driven.
The executive vice president said, "Previously, because buyers preferred verified counterparties, there was a practice of maintaining existing counterparties, so top-tier global companies dominated the market, but now supply chains are being reorganized," adding, "Speed is the core of AI. As issues have arisen in responses, such as longer lead times at existing global companies, there is demand for new suppliers." He said, "Once we are verified, we can become a significant supplier," adding, "There is an opportunity now."
◇ Business portfolio concentrated in power equipment expected to diversify into distribution equipment
HD Hyundai Electric plans to diversify its business portfolio by increasing orders for distribution equipment. Looking at the share of revenue by product group in 2025, power equipment (such as ultra-high-voltage transformers and high-voltage breakers) accounts for a dominant 69.5%. Distribution equipment (such as switchboards, medium- and low-voltage breakers, and power control systems) accounts for 16.1%, and rotating machines such as motors account for 14.4%.
The executive vice president said, "Continuing to invest in distribution equipment, such as building the Cheongju distribution campus, is a strategy to enhance the stability of our business portfolio," adding, "Revenue in the distribution equipment institutional sector is steadily trending upward, and with new demand from data centers and more, we expect the distribution equipment institutional sector to become one pillar of growth."
The executive vice president added, "In the mid to long term, if the revenue share of distribution equipment expands to about 30%, it will complement our power equipment-centered revenue structure and increase the stability of the entire company."
HD Hyundai Electric is also considering consolidating its switchboard and distribution transformer plants in Ulsan into the Cheongju distribution campus to grow the distribution equipment field.
The executive vice president said, "Internally, specific investment plans or production line expansion measures have not been finalized, so it is hard to speak definitively," but added, "Because our long-term goal is to produce a variety of distribution equipment at the Cheongju distribution campus, we named the plant a distribution campus rather than a medium- and low-voltage breaker plant."