South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries wins a 386.5 billion won (USD 290 million) contract to supply power systems for U.S. AI data centers.
Hyosung Heavy Industries announced on September 15 that it signed contracts totaling 386.5 billion won to supply ultra-high-voltage transformers to two major U.S. technology companies. The equipment will be deployed at newly constructed artificial intelligence data centers in the northern and southern United States. The agreement includes 765-kilovolt (kV) ultra-high-voltage transformers valued at 220 billion won, alongside 345 kV units worth 166.5 billion won.
Industry analysts attribute the string of U.S. orders to the strategic foresight of Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, who anticipated shifts in American power markets and prepared accordingly. “With the AI era, demand for power infrastructure is exploding, ushering in the first supercycle in 60 years,” Cho stated. He added, “Building on ‘total solution’ competitiveness that spans transformers and circuit breakers as well as high-voltage direct current (HVDC), STATCOM and energy storage systems (ESS) for grid stabilization, I will elevate Hyosung Heavy Industries into the global top three within five years.”
The United States, the world’s largest power market, is experiencing rapid expansion in AI data center investments driven by Big Tech firms. According to Goldman Sachs, U.S. data center power demand is projected to grow at an annual rate of 15% through 2030, requiring approximately $50 billion in new power infrastructure investments to support the surge.
Since the early 2010s, Hyosung Heavy Industries has held the No. 1 market share in the U.S. 765 kV ultra-high-voltage transformer segment, supplying roughly half of all such transformers installed on the American transmission grid. Beyond transformers, the company manufactures ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers ranging from 72.5 kV to 800 kV. Demand for STATCOMs—static synchronous compensators used for grid stabilization—is also climbing, positioning Hyosung as a critical supplier in the rapidly expanding AI data center power infrastructure sector.
To secure local supply chains, Hyosung Heavy Industries leverages its Tennessee manufacturing facility, acquired in 2020, which serves as a central hub for regional operations. Upon completion of its planned expansion, the Memphis plant will boast the largest ultra-high-voltage transformer production capacity in the United States. In July, the company further strengthened its domestic footprint by establishing a joint venture with Quanta, a leading North American energy infrastructure solutions provider, to locally produce ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers following its transformer operations.
In early September, Hyosung Heavy Industries reorganized its operations by launching a dedicated “data center business team.” This unit consolidates engineering talent responsible for designing power equipment—including transformers and circuit breakers—and grid-stabilization solutions such as ESS, microgrids, and STATCOMs. The streamlined structure aims to position the company as a comprehensive “one-stop partner” for the global data center market.
Driven by sustained international demand, Hyosung Heavy Industries had secured approximately 9.3 trillion won in new orders as of August, surpassing its full-year total from the previous year. Consequently, the company raised its annual order target to 12 trillion won, up from the prior guidance of 8.4 trillion won.