Hyosung Heavy Industries has secured orders worth more than KRW 380 billion in ultra-high-voltage transformers from U.S. big tech companies during the month of September. As investment in U.S. power infrastructure surges in line with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, Hyosung Heavy Industries is pursuing a strategy to secure market leadership by leveraging its local production base.

Hyosung Heavy Industries announced on the 15th that it had signed ultra-high-voltage transformer supply contracts totaling KRW 386.5 billion with two U.S. big tech companies. The products to be supplied will be used in new AI data centers to be built in the southern and northern regions of the United States. The contracts consist of a 765kV (kilovolt) ultra-high-voltage transformer order worth KRW 220 billion and a 345kV ultra-high-voltage transformer order worth KRW 166.5 billion.

To respond to growing power demand driven by AI data centers, Hyosung Heavy Industries has expanded its investment in local production and supply chains in the United States. The company is currently expanding its ultra-high-voltage transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee, acquired in 2020, and once the expansion is completed, it will have the largest ultra-high-voltage transformer production capacity in the United States. Earlier in July, it also established a joint venture for ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers with Quanta, a North American energy infrastructure company.

The internal organization has also been restructured. In early September, the company created a new “Data Center Business Team” by integrating design personnel for power equipment such as transformers and circuit breakers with those for energy storage systems (ESS), small-scale local power grids (microgrids), and equipment that stabilizes power quality (STATCOM). The strategy is to provide “package” services in the global data center market, covering everything from design and manufacturing to sales.

In the United States, the world’s largest power market, investment in AI data centers has recently expanded significantly, led by big tech companies. According to global investment bank Goldman Sachs, U.S. data center power demand is projected to grow by an annual average of 15% through 2030, and about USD 50 billion (approximately KRW 67 trillion) is expected to be invested in new power infrastructure to support this growth.

New orders received by Hyosung Heavy Industries through August this year amounted to approximately KRW 9.3 trillion, already exceeding last year’s full-year order volume. The company’s annual order target has also been raised from the previous KRW 8.4 trillion to KRW 12 trillion. Cho Hyun-joon, Chairman of Hyosung, stated, “With the advent of the AI era, demand for power infrastructure is exploding, ushering in a supercycle not seen in 60 years,” adding, “Based on our total solution competitiveness that encompasses transformers, circuit breakers, HVDC, STATCOM, and ESS, we will become one of the global top three companies in the industry within five years.”

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