Pilot project to launch this year with four companies, including IT firms

Solar power generated on-site to supply electricity directly to data center

OCI Group accelerates push into AI power infrastructure market

OCI's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul [OCI Holdings]
OCI's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul [OCI Holdings]

OCI Power has become the first company in South Korea to develop an "edge AI modular data center," a next-generation model that installs a solar power complex near the data center and supplies electricity in real time from an adjacent location. The project is expected to accelerate OCI Group's entry into the AI power infrastructure market.

OCI Power — a solar inverter subsidiary of OCI Group — is preparing to launch the country's first edge AI modular data center pilot project, with work set to begin before the end of this year, according to industry sources Wednesday.

The project is being commissioned by a public institution, with four companies participating jointly, including OCI Power and several IT firms. The project is expected to be worth hundreds of billions of won. "We are coordinating with the participating companies to begin the pilot within this year," an OCI Power official said.

All major equipment, with the exception of GPUs, will be sourced domestically. Solar power facilities will be installed near the data center, and the electricity generated there will be fed through OCI Power's equipment before being supplied to the data center.

"All the necessary technology and products are already available domestically," an OCI Power official said. "The key is combining IT, power, renewable energy and battery technologies that have been scattered across separate industries to build a new business model."

A view of the Alamo 1 solar project operated by OCI Energy in Bear County, San Antonio, Texas [OCI Holdings]
A view of the Alamo 1 solar project operated by OCI Energy in Bear County, San Antonio, Texas [OCI Holdings]

A modular data center prefabricates servers, power systems and cooling equipment in modular units that are assembled on-site, dramatically cutting installation time. Among these, the edge AI modular data center is a next-generation model that places small-scale AI computing facilities near where data is actually used. It can process data faster than conventional centralized data centers, which rely on a single large computing facility.

Global big tech companies have already entered the edge data center market. Nvidia unveiled a turnkey solution last year and has recently announced plans to build infrastructure with a capacity of 500 MW. By contrast, no company in South Korea has yet begun full-scale development in this space.

Through this project, OCI is expected to make a full-scale entry into the AI power infrastructure market. OCI is a chemicals-focused group whose core affiliate, OCI Holdings, produces polysilicon — a key material for solar panels and semiconductors. As the AI power market has grown, the group has expanded into the power equipment business, including acquiring the Korean branch of KACO, a German solar inverter manufacturer that was the predecessor of OCI Power, in 2019.

AI was also the central theme of OCI's organizational restructuring this year. The group recently reorganized around three divisions — management, technology and safety, and business — and established a new semiconductor materials business unit under the business division. A new "AX and security" organization was also created to drive AI-based operational innovation.

"OCI Power is expanding from solar inverters into solar and battery engineering, procurement and construction," an OCI Power official said. "The fact that we can offer customers an integrated power infrastructure solution also connects to the group's core business in chemical materials."


klee@heraldcorp.com