SK Innovation to Supply "Integrated Energy Solutions" to Hyperscale Data Centers

Integrated Export to BDC's AI-Focused Data Center in Malaysia:
Power Management, Auxiliary Power, and Cooling Solutions
"Global Expansion... Joint Research and Development Planned"

SK Innovation is set to begin exporting integrated energy solutions to global hyperscale data centers. While the company has previously supplied individual technology units both domestically and internationally, this marks the first time it will design and implement an entire system?including power management?for high-capacity, AI-dedicated facilities.

On June 12, SK Innovation announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the previous day, June 11, at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, with Bridge Data Centres (BDC), a Singapore-based data center operator, to supply energy solutions. The agreement targets an AI-specialized data center in Malaysia. This data center will have a capacity of over 300MW, surpassing the largest data center in Korea, which stands at 270MW. BDC is an infrastructure company that operates data centers with a total capacity of 1GW across Malaysia, India, and Thailand.

Muhwan Kim, head of the Energy Solutions Division at SK Innovation (left), and Kevin Kwan, Chief Investment Officer of BDC, are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement to promote the data center energy solutions project on the 11th at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. SK Innovation

Under this agreement, SK Innovation plans to provide the Malaysian data center with an integrated package that includes: an AI-based power flow management system (DCMS); an energy storage system (ESS) and auxiliary power configuration based on fuel cells; and an immersion cooling solution for direct server cooling. This is effectively a "package export" that bundles essential technological elements for data center operations, representing the first case in which SK Innovation has expanded its scope of supply in this way.

Until now, SK Innovation has developed its own immersion cooling technology through its lubricant subsidiary, SK Enmove, and has conducted pilot applications in select industrial sites. Immersion cooling is a technology that can reduce power consumption and improve cooling efficiency in high-performance AI servers that generate substantial heat. It is an area that global data center operators are actively considering. In February, U.S. semiconductor design company Nvidia drew attention by highlighting immersion cooling technology as a solution for managing heat generated by AI accelerators.

This time, the entire suite of energy solutions?including immersion cooling technology?will be demonstrated in a hyperscale AI data center environment, which is expected to validate not only the technological capabilities but also the overall business viability, including operational stability and cost efficiency. In particular, the AI-based power management system, DCMS, is designed to monitor power flow in real time, automatically detect anomalies, and efficiently control auxiliary power sources.

SK Innovation explained that, following its merger with SK E&S last year, it now has a diverse power portfolio, enabling it to flexibly respond to customer needs. After the merger, SK Innovation’s business now spans the entire energy sector, from refining, chemicals, and batteries to liquefied natural gas (LNG), solar power, wind power, hydrogen, and small modular reactors (SMR).

Muhwan Kim, head of the Energy Solutions Division at SK Innovation, stated, "With this business agreement with BDC, we plan to commercialize energy solutions that can be applied to AI data centers in the global market. Going forward, we will also pursue joint research and development (R&D) with global AI data center companies."

Kevin Kwan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of BDC, commented, "BDC has led the growth of hyperscale data centers across the Pan-Asia region for the past decade and continues to invest in providing world-class computing solutions. Through this partnership with SK, we will actively work to further advance eco-friendly, data center-specific energy solutions."