Seoul: LG Electronics Inc. announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Hanwha Corp. to collaboratively develop next-generation data center cooling solutions.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the agreement will see the three companies work together to construct a power-saving data center with a total capacity of 10 megawatts for servers and cooling infrastructure. The initiative addresses the increasing energy demand and heat output from artificial intelligence-driven data centers by leveraging renewable energy sources and enhancing power efficiency.
The project will explore renewable sources such as solar and wind, which primarily generate direct current (DC) electricity. This type of electricity usually needs conversion to alternating current (AC) for grid transmission, a process that can result in up to 10 percent energy loss. To combat this inefficiency, LG Electronics plans to develop and provide a specialized chiller, which is a large-scale air conditioning unit optimized for DC power.
KEPCO is set to spearhead the provision and testing of stable DC power through low-voltage direct current transmission technology. Meanwhile, Hanwha will manage the design and construction of the DC-based data center. LG Electronics believes this tripartite project will help realize its ambition of becoming a global leader in energy-efficient data center cooling technologies.