LG Electronics will aggressively expand its thermal management solutions business, leveraging its HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) technology. In particular, it will accelerate its liquid cooling business optimized for rapidly growing data centers in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).
LG Electronics announced on the 13th that it will participate for the first time in the "Data Center World (DCW; Data Center World 2025," which will be held in Washington D.C. from the 14th to the 17th local time.
The company aims to solidify its position as a prepared player through a lineup of various cooling solutions developed based on HVAC technology in the data center market, including liquid cooling solutions (CDU; Coolant Distribution Unit). DCW is an exhibition where big tech and semiconductor corporations also participate, featuring seminars and meetings on various topics such as AI technology and trends, infrastructure construction, and energy efficiency.
Liquid cooling solutions directly attach metal cooling plates (cold plates) to chips such as high-heat-generating CPUs and GPUs in servers and send coolant to the plates to cool down the heat. As CPU and GPU computations increase, heat generation rises, making effective heat management solutions essential. AI data centers generate more heat than traditional data centers due to higher server rack density and large amounts of chip usage. Direct cooling of chips is drawing attention as next-generation technology due to smaller installation space and higher energy efficiency compared to air cooling.
The LG Electronics CDU is a solution designed to directly cool chips within data centers, implementing core component technology to ensure stability and high efficiency. The virtual sensor technology applied to the CDU compensates for faulty readings from major sensors by utilizing pump and other sensor data, allowing the cooling system to operate reliably.
Additionally, the pump, which applies high-efficiency inverter technology, only discharges the necessary amount of coolant depending on the situation, enhancing energy efficiency. LG Electronics aims to complete CDU development by the first half of this year and supply it to global clients' AI data centers by the end of the year.
LG Electronics will also introduce the 'oil-free inverter turbo chiller,' a key product in its chiller lineup. This product lowers the room temperature within data centers through air cooling and operates reliably using AI technology. Magnetic bearing technology is applied, which levitates and rotates the shaft of a high-speed compressor motor using electromagnetic force, reducing friction loss and increasing energy efficiency. Along with this, the FWU (Fan Wall Unit) featuring a self-developed high-efficiency fan and motor, which precisely controls airflow, will also be unveiled.
LG Electronics also proposes a hybrid solution optimized for the next-generation AI data center structure. This approach combines liquid cooling and air cooling methods to provide the optimal cooling solutions for AI data centers that use high power and emit more heat.
Next, it will showcase the beacon (BECON; Building Energy Control) system for integrated building management through real-time energy analysis based on AI. The beacon precisely analyzes temperature and power usage within buildings, helping to reduce energy consumption by automatically controlling the system.
LG Electronics has recently established an AI data center dedicated test bed (LG AI Data Center HVAC Solution Lab) at its chiller plant in Pyeongtaek to provide optimal solutions to customers by simulating various environmental conditions of AI data centers. The test bed is currently conducting systematic cooling tests using server racks, CDU, chillers, and FWUs. Research and development are also underway on the 'immersion cooling' method, which directly submerges servers and equipment in insulated liquid.
Meanwhile, LG Electronics established the Eco Solution (ES) business unit at the end of last year to accelerate the growth of its HVAC business. The ES business unit leads the digitization of the air conditioning industry using AI technology with the goal of achieving compressed growth twice as fast as the market in the clean tech sector, while actively responding to emerging business opportunities such as cooling systems for AI data centers as well as nuclear power and mega factory.
Lee Jae-sung, vice president and head of LG Electronics' ES business unit, said, "LG Electronics is a prepared player with various AI data center cooling solutions, including the super-large cooling equipment, chiller, as well as CDU," and added, "We will accelerate B2B business growth based on differentiated HVAC technology."