LS ELECTRIC wins $70.26 million transformer deal for U.S. data center

LS ELECTRIC is accelerating its push into the North American market after winning a major contract to supply extra-high-voltage transformers for an AI data center power infrastructure project.

LS ELECTRIC announced on the 6th that its subsidiary LS Power Solution recently signed a contract with a U.S. energy infrastructure company to supply extra-high-voltage transformers for approximately $70.26 million (about KRW 106.6 billion).

Under the contract, LS Power Solution will supply 345-kV-class extra-high-voltage transformers for a microgrid powering a data center operated by a major tech company in the central United States. Deliveries are scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2027 through the first half of 2028.

As the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing drives a surge in data center power demand, investment in infrastructure for reliable, efficient electricity supply is expanding across North America. Projects to improve data center reliability by building dedicated microgrids that operate independently of the existing power grid are being launched across the region.

Seven leading global tech companies recently signed a pledge to source data center power directly from their own power plants rather than drawing it from the external grid, to prevent AI from raising electricity bills for the public. As a result, microgrids are becoming a key means of enabling data centers to meet their own power needs.

After signing a $46 million (about KRW 64.1 billion) contract last September to supply power distribution solutions for a data center microgrid project, LS ELECTRIC has now won an extra-high-voltage transformer supply contract through its subsidiary, demonstrating its competitiveness across the data center power supply value chain.

LS Power Solution, LS ELECTRIC’s extra-high-voltage transformer subsidiary, was acquired by LS ELECTRIC in 2024 and changed its name from KOC Electric last year. It has been recognized as one of South Korea’s five leading suppliers of extra-high-voltage transformers to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and the only domestic small or midsize company with 154-kV technology and equipment. Since its acquisition by LS ELECTRIC, it has expanded its product range to include 345-kV-class transformers and is growing its customer base from South Korea to overseas markets.

With this project, LS ELECTRIC has once again demonstrated its extra-high-voltage transformer technology and supply capabilities. Building on that achievement, the company plans to step up its efforts to capture opportunities in North America to replace aging transmission grids and build power infrastructure for new data centers.

Global data center power demand is projected to rise from 40 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 to 106 GW in 2035. North America’s data center power infrastructure market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 16%, from $8.65 billion (KRW 13 trillion) in 2025 to $37.2 billion (about KRW 56 trillion) in 2035.

LS ELECTRIC said the end customer is a major tech company, but it cannot disclose the company’s name under a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). It added that, after supplying power distribution solutions for a data center microgrid last year, it has now been selected as an extra-high-voltage transformer supplier, demonstrating the reliability of its technologies across both power transmission and distribution.

LS Power Solution said that the recent surge in North American data center power demand has led to a sharp increase in microgrid construction to avoid straining the power grid. The company added that the contract will help strengthen its brand in the rapidly growing data center microgrid market.