Korea’s LS Electric bets on DC power to cut AI data center energy loss
LS Electric’s tie-up with Infineon puts DC distribution and solid-state protection at the center of Korea’s AI data center buildout—offering operators lower losses, higher density, and faster routes to localization across Asia.
AsiaAIFrontNews2 min read
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Korea’s LS Electric signed an MoU with Infineon to co-develop DC distribution gear—solid-state transformers, DC converters, and solid-state breakers—for high-density AI data centers and future grids. DC-first designs cut conversion steps that waste scarce power as heat. If validated at scale from Seoul to Singapore, operators could lift rack density and ease grid interconnect limits globally.
Key Takeaways
LS Electric–Infineon to co-develop DC gear and solid-state protection.
Fewer AC/DC stages can trim losses and back >30 kW per rack.
Asia builds may tilt to DC, reshaping procurement beyond Korea.
AI racks at 30–80 kW compound AC/DC stages—utility AC to UPS AC, to rectifiers, to point-of-load—raising losses and heat. DC buses remove steps, improving PUE and freeing headroom under tight utility caps in Korea’s constrained metros. If Korean OEMs prove reliability at scale, DC rooms could become a de facto spec across Asian builds and influence designs in power-limited U.S. and European hubs.
The MoU spans DC conversion for energy storage, solid-state transformers to step and condition power, and solid-state breakers with millisecond fault clearing. LS Electric leads system design, integration, and commercialization; Infineon supplies silicon carbide-based power devices and related IP—pairing Korean manufacturing and service with European chips to speed DC deployments and simplify operator qualification.
What to Watch: Standards for high-voltage DC and SiC device availability will shape export of Korean DC skids across Southeast Asia’s hyperscale wave.
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