LG CNS becomes the first South Korean company to build an overseas local customer's AIDC, completing a 30MW facility in Indonesia. Samsung SDS begins construction of a 60MW dedicated AI data center in Gumi, expandable to 120MW.
South Korean systems integration companies LG CNS and Samsung SDS are expanding their artificial intelligence data center (AIDC) businesses at home and abroad. LG CNS has completed construction of a 30-megawatt (MW) data center in Indonesia, establishing an overseas project track record. Samsung SDS has begun construction of a 60MW dedicated AI data center in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, to expand domestic AI infrastructure. An AIDC combining LG capabilities under “One LG”: LG CNS announced on November 2 that it had completed construction of a 30MW hyperscale AIDC in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the first instance of a South Korean company directly building an overseas customer's AIDC in that customer's local market. LG CNS also secured customers for the facility's entire capacity before construction was completed. The project was commissioned last year by KMG, a joint venture between Indonesia's Sinar Mas Group and Korea Investment Real Assets Management. LG CNS undertook construction using its design, build and operate (DBO) capabilities. To accommodate the high heat output of AI servers, LG CNS plans to use a hybrid cooling configuration combining air and liquid cooling. This first construction phase used an air-cooling system that circulates air to lower internal temperatures. In subsequent phases, the company plans to add liquid cooling to control graphics processing unit (GPU) heat more efficiently, providing cooling infrastructure optimized for high-density AI servers. It also built a power system capable of supporting high-density environments requiring more than 300 kilowatts (kW) per rack. According to the company, this is about 60 times the power capacity of a typical data center rack. The system can reliably supply electricity to AI computing equipment containing multiple GPUs in a single rack. Redundant power infrastructure also enables stable 24-hour operation using backup power even if the main power supply is interrupted. The project brought together capabilities from LG affiliates. It integrated key group capabilities, including LG Electronics' heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and LG Energy Solution's batteries, to provide power, cooling and energy infrastructure as a combined offering. Through the project, LG CNS applied the group's integrated capabilities to overseas AI infrastructure construction and established a project track record for expanding its global AIDC business based on “One LG” solutions. LG CNS is currently designing subsequent construction phases. Once those phases are completed, the data center's total incoming power capacity is expected to expand to 400MW. Using the overseas construction experience and customer references gained in Indonesia, LG CNS is pursuing AIDC business expansion elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan. It plans to strengthen its competitiveness in the global AIDC business and respond to growing demand for AI infrastructure. “Completing the Indonesian AIDC is a meaningful achievement that brings LG CNS's data center capabilities developed in South Korea to an overseas customer and demonstrates our competitiveness in the global market,” said LG CNS president and CEO Hyun Shin-gyoon. “Building on this achievement, we will expand our AIDC and AI factory businesses in global markets, including Asia-Pacific, where AI computing demand is growing rapidly.” First tangible result of a 60 trillion won investment plan for the Yeongnam region, a manufacturing robotics transformation hub for Samsung affiliates: On the same day, Samsung SDS announced that construction had begun on Gumi AIDC, a dedicated AI data center in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The data center, on a site of about 14,000 pyeong in Gongdan-dong, Gumi, will have an initial power capacity of 60MW. It is designed for phased expansion to a maximum of 120MW to meet rapidly growing AI demand. Construction has been under way since Gumi approved its commencement in late August, with completion scheduled for late 2028. In January, Samsung SDS disclosed an investment of 427.3 billion won to build Gumi AIDC. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with North Gyeongsang Province and Gumi for the data center's construction. The start of construction is the first tangible result of Samsung's approximately 60 trillion won investment plan for the Yeongnam region, announced in July at a public presentation on the region's advanced-industry development vision at Gyeongsang National University in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. At that event, Samsung outlined a plan to develop Yeongnam into a “global physical AI innovation cluster.” Major investment areas include the AI data center in Gumi, all-solid-state batteries in Ulsan, package substrates for AI servers and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) in Busan, and high-value-added ships in Geoje. Samsung SDS plans to apply 30 years of data center construction and operating expertise to Gumi AIDC. To accommodate the high power demand and heat output of high-performance GPU servers, it will build large-capacity power infrastructure, redundant key equipment and emergency power systems. In particular, it will use air cooling in general server areas, such as networking and storage, where heat output is relatively low, and water cooling that circulates water to remove heat in high-density GPU server areas where heat is concentrated. Hybrid cooling technology combining the two methods will manage GPU server heat. Server rooms will be designed to operate racks with varying power densities. The company plans to create an environment capable of reliably operating even ultrahigh-power racks in the future. It has also adopted a flexible design to accommodate a variety of AI systems rather than being limited to specific GPUs or services. Samsung SDS will offer both services using GPUs that it installs and operates itself and a colocation business in which customers install and use their own GPUs. Through these offerings, it plans to provide AI services to a range of external customers. Gumi AIDC will also be used for Samsung affiliates' manufacturing robotics transformation (RX) businesses. It is expected to serve as key infrastructure for applications requiring large-scale computation, such as AI training for robots performing precision tasks in manufacturing. “AI is changing how companies work and the competitiveness of industries,” said Samsung SDS president and CEO Lee June-hee. “For these changes to produce tangible results, a robust foundation is needed to process vast amounts of data and operate AI reliably. Gumi AIDC will fulfill precisely that role.”
Original Korean article: Daehan Economy
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
