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LG Electronics is moving to meet surging demand for AI data center cooling solutions by scaling up its global chiller production capacity, including building new manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and South Korea. Photo shows a virtual AI data center fitted with LG Electronics' cooling solutions, including its high-performance chillers. / LG Electronics

LG Electronics is investing a total of 150 billion won to construct a new chiller manufacturing plant in the U.S. and expand production lines in South Korea. The move aims to address surging demand for cooling infrastructure driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and to bolster its push into the North American market.

LG Electronics announced on the 1st that it is building a chiller plant on a 170,000-square-meter site with a total floor area of 32,000 square meters in Windsor, Virginia, targeting production in the first half of next year. The new facility will manufacture air-cooled chillers primarily supplied to AI data centers.

Chillers are industrial systems that generate chilled water in large volumes to cool buildings, factories, and data centers. Chilled water produced by chillers is widely utilized in both air cooling and liquid cooling systems across data centers.

By setting up a manufacturing base in Virginia, a hub with a high concentration of big tech data centers, LG Electronics plans to provide swift and reliable chiller supplies to North American clients. The company envisions using local manufacturing to sharpen its supply responsiveness and expand contract wins for data center projects.

According to market research firm Omdia, global power capacity required for data centers is projected to expand from 226 gigawatts (GW) this year to 420 GW by 2030, with roughly 60% of that total expected to be concentrated in North America.

Alongside this investment, the company is building new air-cooled chiller lines and modernizing facilities domestically at its Pyeongtaek and Changwon plants. It plans to enhance productivity by introducing a continuous-flow production method where processes from first stage to completion run along a single conveyor line. By the end of this year, LG Electronics will phase in additional flow lines across both plants to operate multiple lines concurrently.

The total capital outlay for the new U.S. plant, domestic capacity expansion, and facility upgrades stands at around 150 billion won. LG Electronics plans to continually scale up chiller output by expanding facilities across its global manufacturing footprints going forward.

In tandem with capacity expansion, the company is strengthening its integrated cooling solutions business. LG Electronics is targeting the AI data center market with its Chip to Chiller portfolio, which spans chillers, coolant distribution units (CDUs), and cold plates that directly absorb heat generated by semiconductor chips.

For AI data centers packed with high-density CPUs and GPUs, stably managing heat generated during massive computing operations is critical. LG Electronics plans to secure clients by combining cooling hardware with energy-efficient software and power infrastructure solutions.

In North America, the company is deepening collaboration with hyperscale data center operators and big tech firms, while across Asia, it is expanding commercial opportunities through One LG solutions that integrate affiliate capabilities.

A prime example is the supply of One LG solutions to a hyperscale AI data center being developed in Jakarta by Indonesia's Sinar Mas Group. The initiative pairs LG Electronics' HVAC technology with battery solutions from LG Energy Solution and data center design, construction, and operation capabilities from LG CNS.

Lee Jae-sung, head of LG Electronics' Eco Solutions (ES) Business Company, said, "We will proactively seize surging market demand by continuously strengthening our reliable supply capabilities in cooling solutions, a core piece of infrastructure for AI data centers."

                                                                                                                Lee Ji-sun