Atom Emerges as a Hidden Beneficiary in AI Data Centers... 'Medium-Speed Engines' Gain Attention Amid Power Shortages

As the global AI (artificial intelligence) data center market experiences explosive growth, "securing power" has emerged as a core issue for the AI industry. With the power shortage worsening due to surging demand for high-performance computing, the importance of power infrastructure is increasing, and medium-speed engine-based power generation facilities are drawing attention as an alternative.

Amid this trend, Atom, a KOSDAQ-listed company, is emerging as a hidden beneficiary within the data center infrastructure value chain. Through its subsidiary DST, Atom has secured the supply chain for key medium-speed engine components, and is expected to benefit from the expansion of AI power infrastructure.

According to the industry on May 7, uninterrupted 24-hour power supply is essential for data centers. In particular, AI data centers, which operate high-performance semiconductors and large-scale servers, require a much higher power density, making stable and constant power supply indispensable for operation.

In this context, "medium-speed engine-based distributed power generation" is rapidly being established as a practical alternative, as it requires a shorter installation period compared to gas turbines and offers greater output stability than renewable energy. Medium-speed engines are industrial internal combustion engines rotating at 300 to 1,000 rpm (revolutions per minute). They are adapted from marine engines for use in land-based power generation to supply electricity to data centers. These engines can provide stable power for long durations, making them widely used in power generation facilities.

In fact, the "HiMSEN" engine from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's top marine medium-speed engine manufacturer, is rapidly expanding its application beyond marine propulsion to become a power source for data centers.

Recently, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a contract with U.S. energy infrastructure developer Aperion Energy Group (AEG) to supply power generation facilities based on HiMSEN engines, worth KRW 627.1 billion. This marks the largest power generation engine contract ever signed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to date.

An industry official explained, "With the surging power demand from AI data centers, the importance of medium-speed engine-based distributed power generation facilities is increasing." They added, "Because medium-speed engines are operated continuously, their operating hours are longer than those of marine engines, and the replacement cycle for components is shorter, resulting in ongoing maintenance demand." The official further commented, "Demand for related engines and key components is likely to increase structurally."

DST specializes in manufacturing marine engine components and supplies cylinder modules and cylinder heads used in HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' HiMSEN engines. These components are critical engine parts responsible for combustion and power transmission, requiring advanced precision machining technologies directly linked to performance.

A company representative emphasized, "By manufacturing cylinder modules and parts for the HiMSEN engine, a medium-sized engine independently developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries with proprietary technology, we've demonstrated our technological prowess." The representative continued, "Most processes are automated, and we have been recognized for our precision machining technology by winning the Grand Prize at the Quality Innovation Competition."

In particular, DST is expected to see growth as it expands its supply of components to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The engine division at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is reportedly operating at over 140% utilization, indicating that it has entered a phase of excessive demand.

A financial investment industry official commented, "The AI data center market is forming a new value chain that flows from GPUs to power, then to engines and finally to components." The official added, "As power bottlenecks worsen, demand for engines will expand structurally, leading directly to performance growth for core component companies."

Meanwhile, in May last year, Atom became the largest shareholder of DST by acquiring 50% plus one share of DST. Based on its power infrastructure technology, Atom is expanding its business scope beyond the existing smartphone charger market into the power supply unit (PSU) market for electric vehicles (EVs) and AI servers.

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