LS Electric verifies blackout-prevention technology for AI data centers

LS Electric has completed verification of a next-generation grid control technology designed to prevent large-scale blackouts — a growing risk as renewable energy expands and large conventional power plants decline. The company plans to leverage the results to secure a leading position in the next-generation power infrastructure market.

According to industry sources Wednesday, LS Electric recently finished building a verification infrastructure for a 10 MW-class grid-forming (GFM) inverter at its Cheonan plant, which handles the company's ESS business, and completed actual technology validation. The tests confirmed performance across frequency and voltage stability, fault response, and power stabilization for AI data centers. "We have been the first in the industry to demonstrate large-capacity GFM inverter technology that can be applied in real market conditions," a company official said.

GFM is a next-generation control technology in which the inverter itself autonomously generates voltage and frequency references — acting as a virtual synchronous generator — rather than following the existing grid's voltage and frequency as the conventional grid-following (GFL) method does. An inverter is required to convert the direct current stored in an ESS into the alternating current used on the grid.

Traditionally, the heavy rotating machinery of large power plants — coal or nuclear — physically absorbed grid frequency fluctuations, providing inertia that cushioned sudden shocks. As the shift toward cleaner energy reduces the number of large plants, however, inverter-based sources such as solar and wind are proliferating, leaving the grid with insufficient inertia to absorb disturbances. The result is a deepening "weak grid" problem in which even a minor lightning strike or fault can cause system frequency to collapse and trigger a large-scale blackout.

In this environment, GFM uses inverter software to replicate the inertia function that rotating machinery once provided, and is widely regarded as a key grid control technology for resolving power instability in renewable-heavy systems. Regulatory authorities are also accelerating GFM adoption to stabilize the grid. The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy recently joined forces with Korea Electric Power Corporation and the Korea Power Exchange to finalize GFM performance requirements tailored to the domestic transmission system, and plans to mandate the technology first for the centrally contracted long-duration BESS market — a 540 MW project set to begin commercial operation in December 2027.

LS Electric's 10 MW-class demonstration serves as both a preemptive move ahead of the ESS centrally contracted market and government performance requirements taking full effect in 2027, and a strategic step toward capturing private and overseas markets. At AI data center construction sites, GFM technology is gaining traction as a solution to power volatility, and major overseas grid authorities and project owners are increasingly requiring GFM demonstration data in BESS tenders. The company plans to use its validated technology to gain an edge in domestic ESS tenders and microgrid contracts for AI data centers. A company official said it plans to optimize product specifications to meet national detailed standards and market-specific requirements as they are established, then move into full commercialization.

Meanwhile, the race to secure GFM technology is intensifying across the domestic power equipment industry. Hyosung Heavy Industries obtained an official certification for basic GFM functions last year, and on that basis captured the highest market share — about 71.3 percent — in the second round of domestic centrally contracted long-duration ESS projects that required GFM capability. The company is currently conducting verification and development work to commercialize the GFM ESS power conversion system (PCS) for its awarded projects. "Work is under way to secure GFM-related functions, including testing," a company official said.

HD Hyundai Electric has completed development and technical verification of a low-capacity (100 kV-class) GFM inverter and is now developing a 4 MW-class GFM inverter — a widely used commercial scale — to advance toward full commercialization. The company has also signed an MOU with KEPCO's Power Research Institute to jointly develop GFM technology, with HD Hyundai Electric focusing on transmission grid applications within the joint project.