LS Electric and SB Global Partner for AI Data Center Power Infrastructure
LS Electric and SB Global signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on September 21, 2026, to jointly build stable power infrastructure and develop business for a large-scale AI data center in the eastern Jeonnam region.
Our take
Is on-site storage for AI data centres in Korea an investable business?
On-site storage sold to Korean AI data centres on subscription is not yet an investable business, because the deal is a memorandum for one planned campus with no published tenants, connection date or contract terms.
Under a subscription model the data centre customer, not the wholesale market, pays for the storage, so tenant credit and contract tenor carry the value. Whether tenants sign and when the campus gets its grid connection decide whether this becomes a revenue stream.
What the source says
- LS Electric and SB Global signed an MOU on September 21, 2026, for cooperation in building power infrastructure for AI data centers.
- The MOU aims to build stable power infrastructure and jointly develop business for a large-scale AI data center in the eastern Jeonnam region.
- An LS Electric official stated they will combine LS Electric's unique technology in new substation EPC, ultra-high voltage power equipment, and DC distribution solutions with SB Global's business development and ESS integration know-how.
- An SB Global official emphasized that the key to AI data center operation lies in stably controlling power load fluctuations during high-performance computing tasks.
- SB Global, established in 2017, is an 'EaaS (Energy as a Service)' specialist that integrates substations, ESS, and EMS to provide power infrastructure to data center customers on a subscription basis.
- The Gurye AI Data Center Campus, a large-scale project in Gurye-gun, Jeonnam, plans to secure 1GW of power infrastructure by directly connecting to a 345kV transmission line.
- The companies plan to jointly develop an 'AI data center dedicated power quality stabilization integrated solution' by combining SB Global's hybrid ESS (supercapacitor + sodium-ion battery) and patent-based EMS with LS Electric's ultra-high voltage and DC distribution capabilities.
- The Gurye AI Data Center Campus plans to provide over 5% power tariff competitiveness compared to other regions through Distributed Energy Special Zone benefits and its own EMS solution.
For investors — Infrastructure funds looking at energy-as-a-service platforms should underwrite tenant credit and contract tenor, neither of which is published for this campus.
Storage investors should treat load-side storage of this kind as a customer contract rather than a market position, since whether it may also sell into the wholesale market was not stated.
Watch: Progress on the joint development of the 'AI Data Center Dedicated Power Quality Stabilization Integrated Solution' and the construction timeline for the Gurye AI Data Center Campus.
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