LG Electronics (066570) and SK Enmove will jointly develop a new eco-friendly refrigerant as they seek to expand their data center cooling business in North America and Europe.
LG Electronics said on the 23rd that it signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Enmove at the SK Seorin Building in Seoul's Jongno district for the "joint advance development of new refrigerants, refrigerant oils and immersion cooling technology for home, commercial and industrial use." Lee Jae-sung, head of LG Electronics' Eco Solution business unit, and Kim Won-ki, president of SK Enmove, attended the signing ceremony.
The two companies will first jointly develop and verify a high-performance, eco-friendly refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) below 150 that contains no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which contribute to global warming. SK Enmove will develop candidate materials for the new refrigerant, while LG Electronics plans to assess their real-world applicability by drawing on its expertise in air-conditioning products and system operation.
GWP is an index showing how much a given substance contributes to global warming. R-32, a refrigerant now in wide use, has a GWP of 675. The companies plan to develop a refrigerant with a GWP below 150, less than a quarter of that level. The move is intended to get ahead of tightening environmental rules in North America and Europe, the core markets for data centers.
LG Electronics and SK Enmove will also jointly develop refrigerant oil, not just the refrigerant itself. By improving the performance of the oil, they aim to raise the efficiency of cooling systems further. Refrigerant oil is a lubricant that reduces friction and damage between cooling system components such as compressors, much like engine oil in a car.
The two companies will also expand cooperation in immersion cooling, a next-generation technology that cools heat-generating equipment such as servers by submerging it directly in a non-conductive immersion cooling fluid. The companies had earlier run a proof of concept (PoC) with U.S.-based Green Revolution Cooling (GRC) to develop an immersion cooling solution for data centers and reviewed its commercial potential. Through this partnership, they plan to extend immersion cooling beyond data centers to areas including energy storage systems (ESS) and electric vehicle components.
"The importance of high-efficiency thermal management technology is rising rapidly across a range of industries, including AI data centers," Lee said. "By combining LG Electronics' differentiated air-conditioning and cooling technology with SK Enmove's capabilities in refrigerants and refrigerant oils, we will strengthen the competitiveness of next-generation thermal management solutions and continue to find new business opportunities in the global market."
"Thermal management technology is a key factor that determines energy efficiency and product performance," Kim said. "We will push ahead more quickly with the development of next-generation refrigerants, refrigerant oils and immersion cooling technology, and expand commercialization opportunities across various industries."
