MOU with Korea District Heating to advance AIoT-based safety management

Partnership to build predictive system for sinkholes, stray current detection

Kwon Yong-hyun (right), head of LG Uplus's enterprise division, and Jung Nam-sung, head of Korea District Heating's construction division, pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony held at LG Uplus's Yongsan-gu office in Seoul. [LG Uplus]
Kwon Yong-hyun (right), head of LG Uplus's enterprise division, and Jung Nam-sung, head of Korea District Heating's construction division, pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony held at LG Uplus's Yongsan-gu office in Seoul. [LG Uplus]

LG Uplus and Korea District Heating are joining forces to upgrade safety management at district energy facilities using AI-based Internet of Things technology. The two companies plan to build a predictive maintenance system capable of detecting hazards such as sinkholes and heat pipeline corrosion in real time and anticipating accidents before they occur.

The two companies signed an MOU on "advancing AIoT-based safety management in the district energy sector" Monday at LG Uplus's office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Kwon Yong-hyun, head of LG Uplus's enterprise division, and Jung Nam-sung, head of Korea District Heating's construction division, attended the signing along with other senior officials from both sides.

According to LG Uplus, district energy refers to a system in which heat and electricity produced at large-scale generation facilities are supplied to apartment complexes, office buildings and commercial properties. District heating — which channels hot water generated as a byproduct of electricity production at combined heat and power plants through underground pipelines into urban areas — is the most common example.

District energy infrastructure, however, carries significant safety risks. Key equipment including heat source facilities and heat transport pipelines operates at temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius, and because the pipelines are buried underground, ground subsidence or pipe corrosion can trigger serious accidents.

In response, the two companies plan to deploy AIoT technology to detect on-site hazards in real time and build a predictive maintenance system that can anticipate and respond to potential accidents before they happen. They intend to combine LG Uplus's experience operating AI-based control platforms and its IoT communications technology with Korea District Heating's expertise running the country's largest district energy network.

Specifically, the two companies will pilot technologies covering sinkhole early detection, stray current detection in heat transport pipelines, and enhanced physical security and monitoring of high-risk facilities such as power distribution rooms.

For sinkhole prevention, the companies plan to use tilt-sensing technology embedded in an underground geothermal remote-sensing terminal they jointly developed. The system analyzes subtle ground subsidence at pipeline burial points that would be invisible to the naked eye, tracking real-time changes in tilt magnitude and vibration intensity and feeding the data into an AI model to flag subsidence risks early.

To detect stray currents — a leading cause of heat pipeline corrosion — the companies will monitor current density and frequency flowing through each pipe. They plan to pilot a solution that tracks electrical signals in real time and identifies corrosion-risk points at an early stage, and are also exploring automating the process of diverting stray currents to safe locations.

In addition, AI-based physical security technology will be applied to power distribution rooms, where the risk of electric shock and entrapment accidents is high. An integrated control platform will enable round-the-clock monitoring, strengthen work-history management and tighten access controls for critical equipment including doors, enclosures and server racks.

The two companies first collaborated in 2020, jointly developing South Korea's first IoT temperature sensor — an underground geothermal remote-sensing sensor. Last year, they completed a field pilot of a miniaturized IoT monitoring device designed for underground installation.

Building on the new agreement, the companies plan to layer AI-based risk prediction on top of existing safety management systems to raise overall safety standards across the district energy industry.

"We will address safety blind spots at district energy facilities and advance our AIoT solutions to strengthen the safety of energy infrastructure," Kwon said. "We will continue to develop tailored solutions combining AI and IoT technology to resolve concerns at various infrastructure sites."

Jung said the agreement was significant because it extended the application of AIoT technology beyond heat transport pipelines to heat source facilities as well. "We will continue to deepen our cooperation with LG Uplus to complete an intelligent preventive safety system for district energy facilities," he added.


chami@heraldcorp.com