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OCI Holdings signs energy storage agreement with CPS Energy, Vertech
Sabah Bayatli, center, president of OCI Energy, poses with CPS Energy President and CEO Rudy Garza, left, and Park Jae-hong, head of LG Energy Solution Vertech, at OCI’s headquarters in Seoul, Monday, after signing a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on energy storage system projects in North America. Courtesy of OCI Holdings
By Park Jae-hyuk
OCI Holdings announced Tuesday that its U.S. subsidiary, OCI Energy, has signed a three-party memorandum of understanding with CPS Energy, a Texas-based energy provider, and Vertech, the U.S. subsidiary of LG Energy Solution, to collaborate on energy storage system (ESS) projects in North America.
The signing ceremony took place Monday at OCI’s headquarters in Seoul.
Under the agreement, OCI Energy will obtain ESS batteries from Vertech, store solar energy generated during the daytime and sell the stored electricity to CPS Energy.
CPS Energy is the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States, serving about 1.28 million customers in Texas. The partnership will launch with the Alamo City ESS project, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, and expand to cover OCI Energy’s pipeline of 13 ESS projects totaling around 3 gigawatts.
The Alamo City ESS project is a solar power facility under development on a 35-acre site in southeastern Bexar County in Texas. It will combine a 120-megawatt solar photovoltaic system with a 480-megawatt-hour energy storage system.
In December, OCI Energy announced the project’s development and signed a 20-year storage capacity agreement with CPS Energy to supply power to the San Antonio area.
In addition, OCI Holdings recently unveiled a $265 million strategic investment to build a solar cell manufacturing plant in North America. The new facility, located in San Antonio, will span 200,000 square feet and is expected to reach a production capacity of 2 gigawatts — 1 gigawatt in the first half of next year and another in the second half. The investment aims to mitigate global tariff risks and respond to growing electricity demand.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers in the U.S. is expected to surge from 4 gigawatts this year to 84 gigawatts by 2030 — a 2,100 percent increase. Texas, home to OCI Energy, is a key site for such data centers, including those operated by OpenAI, Oracle and Crusoe.
“In light of external uncertainties, including reciprocal tariffs, we have selected LG Energy Solution — which has multiple production bases in North America, including Holland, Michigan — as our strategic ESS battery partner,” an OCI Holdings spokesperson said.
“Going forward, we will further strengthen our collaboration with LG Energy Solution and CPS Energy to ensure a sustainable electricity supply through our North American ESS projects and help address the intermittency of solar energy.”