HD Hyundai Electric, KEPCO Partner on Transmission-Grade GFM Inverter Demo
On October 16, HD Hyundai Electric and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a joint research agreement to begin demonstration of transmission-grade Grid-Forming (GFM) inverters. This initiative aims to enhance grid stability by enabling inverters to actively form voltage and frequency, critical for managing increased renewable energy integration.
Our take
Will grid-forming capability become a requirement or a revenue source for battery storage in Korea?
Grid-forming is a compliance cost, not a revenue source, for Korean battery storage so far, because the 2026 central contract tender requires grid-forming inverters and no payment for the service has been published.
The 2026 notices make grid-forming inverters a compliance item under the market rules and KEPCO's connection standards, inside a contract price that never changes. The verdict changes if a grid-forming payment is published, and this KEPCO test is a research agreement with no market rule attached.
What the source says
- HD Hyundai Electric and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a joint research agreement for transmission-grade GFM technology cooperation at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul.
- This agreement advances a comprehensive business agreement signed by both organizations last year into a concrete technical demonstration phase.
- Existing Grid-Following (GFL) inverters rely on external grid frequency, making independent operation difficult and vulnerable during grid incidents.
- Grid-Forming (GFM) inverters are considered a core technology for grid stability, as they actively form voltage and frequency, acting as virtual synchronous generators.
- The joint research aims to verify the parallel operation performance of transmission-grade inverters and develop cooperative control algorithms between GFM and GFL systems.
- The strategy is to secure business competitiveness in the future large-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) market and transmission grid by verifying operational reliability under conditions similar to actual power systems.
- HD Hyundai Electric aims to contribute to domestic grid stabilization and lead the relevant market in line with global eco-friendly energy transition trends through securing this demonstration reference.
For investors — Central contract bidders should price grid-forming-compliant inverters into bid proposals due on 4 November, because the contract price is fixed and carries no inflation adjustment.
Merchant storage investors and optimisers should keep grid-forming out of revenue models until a payment for it is published.
Watch: Monitoring the results and progress of the joint GFM inverter demonstration by HD Hyundai Electric and KEPCO, particularly regarding its parallel operation performance and control algorithm development.
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