Hyosung Heavy Industries secures $277 mil. in US Big Tech orders amid AI data center boom

Hyosung Heavy Industries has secured 386.5 billion won ($277 million) worth of ultra-high-voltage transformer orders from two major U.S. Big Tech companies this month, strengthening its position as a key power infrastructure supplier amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

The company said Tuesday that the transformers will be installed at newly built AI data centers in the northern and southern United States.

The orders include 220 billion won worth of 765-kilovolt transformers and 166.5 billion won worth of 345-kilovolt transformers. The equipment will supply electricity to power-intensive data center facilities.

The latest deals reflect Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon’s yearslong efforts to establish a local production and solutions network in the U.S.

Cho has described the surge in demand for power infrastructure as a “once-in-60-years supercycle” driven by AI. He has set a goal of making Hyosung Heavy Industries one of the world’s top three power equipment companies within five years by offering a broad portfolio ranging from transformers and circuit breakers to high-voltage direct current systems, static synchronous compensators and energy storage systems.

The company’s transformer plant in Tennessee, acquired in 2020, has become a key base for its U.S. operations. An ongoing expansion is expected to make the Memphis facility the largest ultra-high-voltage transformer production site in the U.S.

Hyosung Heavy Industries also established a joint venture in July with Quanta Services, a major North American energy infrastructure company, to locally produce ultra-high-voltage circuit breakers. The move expands the Korean company’s U.S. manufacturing capabilities beyond transformers and strengthens its ability to provide integrated power infrastructure solutions.

Earlier this month, the company established a dedicated Data Center Business Team, bringing together engineers specializing in transformers, circuit breakers, energy storage systems, microgrids and static synchronous compensators.

The team aims to position Hyosung Heavy Industries as a one-stop power infrastructure partner for global data center operators seeking reliable electricity supplies and faster construction.

According to Goldman Sachs, U.S. data center power demand is projected to grow by an average of 15 percent annually through 2030, requiring an estimated $50 billion in new power infrastructure investment.

Hyosung Heavy Industries has held the No. 1 position in the U.S. 765-kilovolt transformer market since the early 2010s and has supplied nearly half of the 765-kilovolt transformers installed on the U.S. transmission grid.

The company’s orders through August totaled about 9.3 trillion won, already surpassing its full-year total for last year. It has raised its full-year order target from 8.4 trillion won to 12 trillion won.