LG Electronics Holds Meeting with Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to Discuss Expansion of 'Chiller' Exports

Meeting at Chiller Factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do
Attended by Minister Andeok Geun and Lee Jaesung, Head of ES Business Division
Strengthening Strategic Cooperation to Expand Chiller Exports
Chiller Business Fully Launched Since 2011
Domestic No.1 and World No.5 in Turbo Chiller Sector
Demand Growing with AI Data Center Boom
"We Will Enhance Competitiveness of Chiller Business in the AI Era"

LG Electronics is joining hands with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to expand exports of its ultra-large cooling unit, the "Chiller," which is gaining attention as a solution to cool the intense heat generated by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

Turbo chiller, LG Electronics' representative chiller product. Photo by LG Electronics

On the 2nd, LG Electronics will hold a meeting with the Ministry’s export field support team at the LG Electronics Chiller factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The meeting will be attended by Minister An Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Lee Jae-sung, head of LG Electronics’ ES (Eco Solution) Business Division, among others, who will exchange opinions and then tour the chiller production line.

The meeting is held amid the rapid growth of the AI data center market and the Korean government’s focused efforts to foster the cooling industry for data centers as a next-generation export item. This year, the government selected cooling systems, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and power equipment as the three core export infrastructures for data centers and has been discussing support measures with the industry. At this meeting, LG Electronics will emphasize to Minister An the importance of securing key technologies to gain market leadership and request government cooperation.

With the popularization of generative AI such as ChatGPT, power consumption at data centers has significantly increased. According to market research firm Grand View Research, the global data center market size has been growing at an annual rate of 10.9% since last year and is expected to reach approximately $437.3 billion by 2030. In line with this, the cooling market that manages the heat of data centers is also expected to grow to $17.2 billion by 2030.

As it has become difficult to efficiently manage data center heat with existing cooling systems, LG Electronics’ ultra-large cooling technology, the Chiller, has emerged as a core infrastructure for data centers. The Chiller circulates chilled water through a heat exchanger to supply cool air. It is mainly installed in industrial facilities such as large buildings and factories.

LG Electronics entered the chiller business in 2011 by acquiring the air conditioning division of LS Mtron. In the turbo chiller segment, a representative large-capacity product, LG Electronics holds the No. 1 market share domestically and ranks 5th globally. At the Pyeongtaek factory, LG Electronics produces various chiller products used not only in data centers but also in large commercial complexes, office facilities, and power plants. Turbo chillers, absorption chillers, and screw chillers are the main products. LG Electronics handles the entire process from design, manufacturing, testing, to shipment of chiller products at this site and supplies the products to major domestic and overseas markets. The annual maximum production capacity of the Pyeongtaek factory reaches about 1,000 units of chillers.

Among global chiller manufacturers, LG Electronics is the only company to apply oil-free magnetic bearing technology to large-capacity air-cooled chillers, securing differentiated technological capabilities. This technology suspends and rotates the compressor motor’s shaft, which spins at high speed inside the chiller, in mid-air using electromagnetic force. It is evaluated to produce less noise and energy loss compared to conventional oil-lubricated bearing methods. Additionally, LG Electronics offers integrated solutions such as BMS (Building Management System) and BEMS (Building Energy Management System), which control and manage HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) equipment installed in buildings as a single system.

Lee Jae-sung, head of the division, said, "The Chiller is an important pillar of LG Electronics’ HVAC business, which has driven the company’s B2B growth. We will strengthen collaboration and communication with the government to enhance the future competitiveness of the Chiller business in the AI era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.