Hyosung is turning a data center strategy initiated nearly a decade ago into a new growth engine as surging artificial intelligence demand drives investment in digital and power infrastructure worldwide.

At the center of the strategy is Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, who identified data centers as a potential future business in 2017, years before generative AI triggered the current global race to build computing infrastructure.

Hyosung Heavy Industries is now operating STT Seoul 1, a hyperscale data center in Gasan-dong, southwestern Seoul, through a joint venture with Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC).

STT Seoul 1 has an IT capacity of up to 30MW and is designed to support growing demand for AI, cloud computing and other high-performance digital services.

Its location in Seoul also differentiates the facility at a time when large data centers are increasingly being developed outside major urban areas because of constraints related to power supply, land availability and regulation.

The facility is close to major business districts including Gangnam and Yeouido, providing an advantage for customers seeking low-latency connectivity.

STT Seoul 1 has also received Tier Certification of Design Documents (TCDD) from Uptime Institute, an international data center infrastructure certification organization.

Hyosung’s move into the sector began long before AI data centers became one of the technology industry’s biggest investment themes.

Cho established an internal task force in 2017 to explore opportunities in the data center business. In 2019, he met STT GDC CEO Bruno Lopez to discuss potential cooperation in digital infrastructure.

The discussions eventually led to a strategic partnership in 2021 and the establishment of a joint venture, combining STT GDC’s data center development and operating expertise with Hyosung Heavy Industries’ capabilities in power infrastructure.

That combination has become increasingly relevant as the rapid adoption of generative AI transforms the economics of data centers.

Large-scale AI computing requires enormous amounts of electricity to operate GPUs and servers around the clock, making access to reliable power infrastructure a critical factor in data center development.

Hyosung Heavy Industries already has a strong presence in this area through its portfolio of power transformers, circuit breakers, gas-insulated switchgear and other transmission and distribution equipment.

The expansion of AI data centers therefore creates opportunities on two fronts. Rising electricity demand supports the company’s core power equipment business, while data center operations open a new avenue for growth in digital infrastructure.

Cho said at the opening of STT Seoul 1 that he had long believed data would become the “oil of the 21st century,” adding that Hyosung intends to develop the data center business into a new growth engine and play a greater role in the global AI ecosystem.

STT Seoul 1 represents an important transition for Hyosung as its data center strategy moves from planning and investment into actual operations.

For Hyosung, the broader opportunity lies in connecting two increasingly interdependent industries: the infrastructure that supplies electricity and the infrastructure that processes data.

As AI continues to drive demand for both computing capacity and reliable electricity, the data center business Cho began exploring nine years ago is emerging as a new pillar of Hyosung’s growth strategy.