LG Electronics said on the 18th that it will work with SK Innovation to expand orders for high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions that reduce power consumption and heat generation at fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
LG Electronics said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK Innovation on the 17th at SK Seorin Building in Jongno District, Seoul, to jointly develop and commercialize an integrated energy-cooling solution for AI data centers. The signing was attended by Lee Jae-sung, head of LG Electronics' ES Business Division (executive vice president), and Kim Moo-hwan, head of SK Innovation's Energy Solution Business Unit.
LG Electronics plans to supply air-cooling solutions such as chillers and fan wall units (FWU) and a liquid-cooling solution, the coolant distribution unit (CDU), to demonstrate and advance cooling solution technologies to lower AI data center temperatures. SK Innovation will handle power supply and operations optimization. It will provide an AI-based data center energy management system (DCMS), backup power (ESS and fuel cells) design, and power peak reduction solutions.
The two companies will also jointly develop next-generation solutions that automatically control cooling systems through stable power supply and AI-based real-time energy analysis. LG Electronics and SK Innovation will collaborate in the energy-as-a-service (EaaS) field, including HVAC solutions that use waste heat and power peak management using ESS. They will review a method that uses fuel cells as the power source and leverages waste heat to cool AI data centers. Through this, they plan to secure references for reducing carbon emissions and energy use and to expand globally the energy service business that offers cooling and energy solutions bundled with services as a package.
Kim, the business unit head, said, "With this agreement, we will establish ourselves as a turnkey contractor that provides customers with a validated integrated data center solution by combining the companies' optimized technologies," and added, "Going forward, based on strategic cooperation, we will take the lead in enhancing competitiveness across the energy industry in line with the coming AI era."
Executive Vice President Lee said, "Through this agreement, we will strengthen our competitiveness in the global AI data center market based on the companies' technology synergies, ranging from data center cooling solutions to integrated solutions that can reduce energy expense."