KICT, SK Innovation join forces on AI data center infrastructure

A government-funded research institute and a major South Korean conglomerate have joined forces to tackle the power consumption, cooling and fire safety challenges posed by AI data centers.

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology announced Friday that it had signed an MOU with SK Innovation to jointly develop advanced infrastructure technology for AI data centers.

The agreement combines the institute's expertise in construction, environmental engineering and safety with SK Innovation's energy and cooling technologies, aiming to improve the efficiency and operational stability of AI data centers.

AI data centers serve as critical infrastructure for running large-scale computing equipment such as high-performance GPUs. They require enormous amounts of power and cooling capacity, as well as a complex mix of technologies spanning structural safety, fire response and water supply and reuse.

As demand for AI computing surges, improving power efficiency in data centers and recycling the waste heat generated during cooling have grown increasingly important.

The institute will contribute research capabilities and demonstration infrastructure across structural engineering, architecture, environmental science, water resources and fire safety. SK Innovation will participate in the joint research drawing on its strengths in energy efficiency, cooling, waste-heat utilization and water management.

Through the partnership, the two organizations plan to jointly develop core technologies needed to build and operate AI data centers, and to verify their applicability in real operating environments.

Specific areas of cooperation include waste-heat management and resource-circulation systems for data centers, double-wall systems, modular data centers, environmental impact analysis of water-source heat utilization, green-integrated infrastructure, and integrated fire safety and functional-recovery management for uninterrupted operations.

Modular data center technology — in which major equipment and structures are prefabricated at a factory and assembled on site — has drawn particular attention as a way to shorten data center construction timelines.

The two organizations will also explore ways to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact through technologies that recycle heat generated during the cooling process and manage water resources more efficiently.

The two organizations plan to identify detailed research tasks centered on topics discussed at a joint workshop, and to flesh out the scope of research, division of roles and approaches to testbed demonstration.

"AI data centers are critical infrastructure underpinning nationally strategic industries, and rapid, safe construction and stable operation are paramount," said Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology President Park Seon-gyu. "We will link the institute's research capabilities in construction, environment and safety with SK Innovation's energy technology to identify collaborative tasks needed in the field, and carry them forward through joint research and demonstration."