Cooling for AI data centers: LG orders jump fivefold to 2.5 billion dollars
The driver is a supply deal for chillers totaling 5 gigawatts in North America. LG is building a new plant in Virginia and expanding production in South Korea.
Graphic: TERRA WORLD NEWS (own graphic based on the sources listed)
South Korean electronics group LG has sharply increased its orders for cooling technology for AI data centers. Cumulative orders exceed 3 trillion won (about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars) – roughly five times the mid-year level of 600 billion won. This emerged from the earnings call on Oct. 28, as reported by industry service SMM.
The main driver is a long-term supply agreement for chillers totaling 5 gigawatts with North American platform Air Control Concepts. For liquid cooling of server racks, LG also offers coolant distribution units (CDUs) rated at 600 kilowatts, 1 megawatt and 2.6 megawatts that Nvidia has qualified for its systems.
To meet demand, LG is investing around 220 billion won: in a new production hub in the U.S. state of Virginia with 32,000 square meters of floor space and in new lines in Pyeongtaek and Changwon in South Korea. The background is that powerful AI chips generate so much heat that data centers are increasingly switching from air to liquid cooling.