LG, GS E&C and GRC sign an immersion cooling MoU a year into LG's Pyeongtaek trials
LG Electronics, GS E&C and US firm GRC signed an MoU on October 13 to develop and validate immersion cooling for AI data centers. The companies did not disclose a budget, a timeline or a customer for the work.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- GRC will supply the immersion tanks and control technology, and will tune system performance using data from installation, operation and maintenance.
- GS E&C will draft standard architectural designs for AI data centers and run proof-of-concept checks on equipment layout, structural loads, piping and power connections.
- LG's existing liquid cooling range is high-efficiency chillers, fan wall units, coolant distribution units and cold plates that absorb heat directly from chips.
- LG and GS E&C already work together on LG's Cloid home robot and ThinQ ON platform in apartment complexes under GS E&C's Xi brand.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint Immersion ties the tanks to building structure, piping, electrical systems and maintenance facilities, so a cooling vendor cannot sell it without a builder's drawings. That dependency explains why GS E&C is a signatory.
- What doesn't add up contradiction The Seoul Economic Daily describes LG as entering the immersion business and also dates its demonstrations with GRC to last October. The sources support an extension of a trial already under way, not a first step.
- Who has to decide decision On the stated scope GS E&C is spending effort on drawings and a test bed, and LG on extending a line it already sells, so building an actual data center would be a separate commitment.
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The MoU could end up as standard designs that an operator builds from, as a test bed that stays a test bed, or as a GRC tank specification with LG's equipment and GS E&C's drawings fitted around it. We think the first is the likeliest, and the reason is who is new at the table. GS E&C is the only signatory that was not in the Pyeongtaek demonstrations [19]. LG has run those with SK Enmove and GRC since October last year, according to the Seoul Economic Daily [13], about 12 months before the signing [17]. SK Enmove, with which LG agreed last month to develop immersion cooling and next-generation refrigerants [14], is not a party to the MoU [1].
Oh Se-ki, head of LG's Eco Solution research center [11], described the work as a continuation. "To take an early lead in the fast-growing market for AI data center cooling solutions, we will continue research and development on high-performance, high-efficiency cooling solutions," Oh said [9].
The split is one scope per party. GRC supplies tanks and controls [3], GS E&C writes the designs and checks layout, structural loads, piping and power connections [4], and LG contributes cooling technology it developed in-house [12]. LG's named products number four, and immersion would make five [18]; none of the four is a tank [6]. On that description the immersion-specific hardware comes from the US partner, and the Korean content is the heat-rejection equipment and the building design. If the value sits in the chiller chain and the building, LG and GS E&C hold most of it. If it sits in tanks and controls, GRC does.
We would call the thesis wrong if no operator specifies the standard designs, or if the test bed that GS E&C will operate, according to the Korea Herald [5], ends with GRC's tank as the fixed reference and LG's equipment as optional.
What to watch
- Whether a named data center operator or developer specifies the GS E&C standard designs for a build.
- First published results from the GS E&C test bed on layout, structural loads, piping and power connections.
- Whether SK Enmove, already working with LG on immersion cooling and refrigerants, is folded into this MoU.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption10
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives45
- Confidence65
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 35%
- Operator
- Operator 33%
- Investor
- Investor 32%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
LG Electronics, GS E&C and US immersion cooling company GRC signed a three-way memorandum of understanding on the 13th (a Tuesday) at GS E&C headquarters in Seoul's Jongno district; SK Enmove is not named as a party.
- [2]
The three companies will develop and verify immersion cooling technology for high-performance AI data centers and will secure integrated solutions and standard designs for building data centers that use it.
- [3]
GRC will supply immersion tanks and control technology, and will focus on improving system performance based on data from equipment installation, operation and maintenance.
- [4]
GS E&C will create standard architectural designs for AI data centers and handle proof-of-concept verification covering the layout of immersion cooling equipment, structural loads, piping and power connections.
- [5]
GS E&C will operate a test bed to evaluate equipment placement, structural loads, piping and power connections.
- [6]
LG Electronics' liquid cooling range includes high-efficiency chillers, fan wall units, coolant distribution units and cold plates that absorb heat directly from chips.
- [7]
The partnership will add immersion cooling to LG's existing air- and liquid-cooling portfolio.
- [8]
Unlike conventional cooling methods, immersion cooling requires close coordination between cooling equipment and data center infrastructure, including building structures, piping, electrical systems and maintenance facilities.
- [9]
"To take an early lead in the fast-growing market for AI data center cooling solutions, we will continue research and development on high-performance, high-efficiency cooling solutions," Oh said.
- [10]
LG Electronics is entering the immersion cooling business on the back of a range of liquid cooling technologies.
- [11]
Oh Se-ki is head of LG Electronics' Eco Solution research center.
- [12]
LG Electronics plans to provide cooling technology it developed in-house to its partners.
- [13]
Since October last year, LG Electronics has been conducting immersion cooling demonstrations with SK Enmove and GRC at its chiller plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
- [14]
Last month, LG Electronics agreed with SK Enmove to jointly develop immersion cooling technology and next-generation refrigerants.
- [15]
LG Electronics and GS E&C are already working together to bring LG's home robot LG Cloid and its AI home platform ThinQ ON into apartment complexes under GS E&C's Xi brand.
- [16]
Neither source states a budget, timeline or customer for the work.
- [17]
LG's Pyeongtaek immersion demonstrations began about 12 months before the October 13, 2026 MoU.
- [18]
LG names four cooling products; adding immersion would make five.
- [19]
GS E&C is the only MoU signatory not already part of the Pyeongtaek demonstrations; SK Enmove took part in those demonstrations but is not a party to the MoU.
Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- dev.toLG's immersion-cooling agreement puts the testbed before the deployment promise
1 article · October 14, 2026
- en.sedaily.comLG Electronics, GS E&C Expand AI Alliance Into Data Center Cooling
1 article · October 13, 2026
- koreaherald.comLG Electronics expands AI cooling push with GS E&C, GRC
1 article · October 13, 2026
- pulse.mk.co.krLG Electronics, GS E&C, GRC team up on AI data center cooling
1 article · October 14, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- AI Data Center Cooling
- Immersion cooling
Entities
- GS Engineering & Construction
- Green Revolution Cooling
- LG Electronics