Hyundai Electric Supplies ESS to KEPCO Shinnamwon Substation... Largest Ever Since Establishment

'Grid Stabilization ESS Construction Project'... Contract Worth 209.7 Billion KRW
336MW Scale... Largest Among KEPCO Public ESS Projects
"Will Actively Enter the Global ESS Market"

A bird's-eye view of the ESS supplied by Hyundai Electric to the Jeju Geumak Substation. Photo by Hyundai Electric

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] Hyundai Electric, a power equipment and energy solutions subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, has succeeded in securing the largest-scale large energy storage system (ESS) project since its establishment.

On the 13th, Hyundai Electric announced that it recently signed an ESS supply contract worth a total of 209.7 billion KRW for the Sinnamwon Substation, part of the "Grid Stabilization ESS Construction Project" led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The volume secured this time is the largest scale since Hyundai Electric started its ESS business. It is scheduled to be delivered with a goal of operation by December 2023.

ESS is a system that stores produced reserve power and supplies it when needed. It is considered a measure to solve the volatility problem of renewable energy, which has inconsistent power generation, and to secure stability.

The "Grid Stabilization ESS Construction Project" is a project in which KEPCO builds ESS with a scale of 970 MW (megawatts) across six substations. Among them, the Sinnamwon Substation, with a capacity of 336 MW, will be built as the largest capacity along with Bubuk Substation since KEPCO's public ESS project.

Through this contract, Hyundai Electric will provide a total solution that performs not only the supply of major equipment constituting the ESS, such as power conversion systems (PCS), load power management systems (LPMS), battery management systems (BMS), and batteries, but also design, construction, and procurement. In particular, it enhanced technological synergy by combining LG Energy Solution's batteries and the PCS technology of 'Hyundai Plaspo,' a power conversion device specialist company acquired in February.

Hyundai Electric also won a public ESS project supplied to Jeju Geumak Substation from KEPCO in September last year.

Meanwhile, the domestic ESS market experienced stagnation for a while after safety issues were raised following fire accidents in 2017, but it is expected that the domestic market will be revitalized again starting with KEPCO's public ESS project.

A Hyundai Electric official said, "Following the global carbon neutrality trend, the domestic as well as the global ESS market will continue to grow sharply," adding, "Based on the excellent technology and reliability proven through the contract with KEPCO, we plan to actively enter the domestic and overseas ESS markets."