Building value chain across energy sector, including nuclear power plants and small modular reactors

Capabilities span project development, financing, construction, operations and retail

South Korea's only private energy developer operating gas-fired power plants in the US

A view of DL Energy's combined-cycle gas power plant in Niles, Michigan. [DL Group]
A view of DL Energy's combined-cycle gas power plant in Niles, Michigan. [DL Group]

As expectations grow for expanded investment in nuclear power and energy infrastructure amid rising energy demand, domestic companies with a competitive foothold in the US market are drawing fresh attention following the National Assembly's passage of a special act on investment in the United States. Among them is DL Group, which has built a value chain spanning the broader energy sector and is active in the US market as an energy developer.

According to industry sources Thursday, DL Group holds an energy business portfolio anchored by DL Energy, which handles project development, financing and operations, and DL E&C, which has engineering, procurement and construction capabilities for both domestic and overseas plants as well as nuclear power plants. Adding Daelim Co., which manages energy logistics and trading, the group is building a vertically integrated structure running from project development through construction, operations and retail distribution.

DL Energy is South Korea's only private energy developer currently investing in and operating gas-fired combined-cycle power plants in the United States. The company entered the sector in 2019 by participating in the construction of a new gas-fired combined-cycle plant in Niles, Michigan, and expanded in 2022 by acquiring a stake in a 1,055-megawatt combined-cycle plant in Fairview, Pennsylvania.

A view of DL Energy's combined-cycle gas power plant in Fairview, Pennsylvania. [DL Group]
A view of DL Energy's combined-cycle gas power plant in Fairview, Pennsylvania. [DL Group]

DL E&C, the group's construction arm, is also strengthening its prospects in the US market by proactively securing fourth-generation small modular reactor technology and EPC capabilities through a partnership with US-based X-energy. In March, the company signed a contract with X-energy for standardized SMR design work — the first time a South Korean construction company has directly carried out such work. DL E&C is also participating in a petrochemical plant construction project in Texas valued at approximately 1.7 trillion won ($1.11 billion).

"We have built a differentiated value chain through various mergers and acquisitions, project development, construction and operations in the US market," a DL Group official said. "We will actively pursue the US market, where demand is surging, as well as global markets, leveraging the group's capabilities as an energy infrastructure developer."

Meanwhile, the global SMR market is projected to reach 85 gigawatts — some 300 units — by 2035, with a total value of $500 billion, according to the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory. DL E&C plans to capture an early share of the global SMR market together with its strategic partner X-energy.


hss@heraldcorp.com