Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Launch Accelerates Energy Expressway... Growing Expectations for LS Marine Solution

Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Officially Launched with Vision of "Transition to a Decarbonized Green Civilization"
Early Construction of the West Coast Energy Expressway Gains Momentum
LS Marine Solution, Korea's Only Submarine HVDC Contractor, Poised to Benefit

With the official launch of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the West Coast Energy Expressway project is expected to gain momentum. LS Marine Solution, which has experience in installing submarine high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables, is anticipated to be a direct beneficiary.

According to industry sources on October 13, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has announced its vision of a "transition to a decarbonized green civilization," outlining plans to foster new growth industries through the implementation of carbon neutrality. Minister Kim Seonghwan stated, "We will actively support the early construction of the energy expressway so that carbon-neutral green industries can become a new growth engine."

In August, the government announced 15 super-innovation projects, including energy, power grids, and advanced materials, through the "Growth Strategy Task Force and Economic Ministers' Meeting." The plan is to accelerate the completion of the West Coast Energy Expressway to 2030, thereby establishing a stable power infrastructure in the Seoul metropolitan area and nationwide.

LS Marine Solution Submarine Cable Laying Vessel GL2030. LS Marine Solution

The West Coast Energy Expressway project involves laying two pairs of submarine cables, spanning approximately 220 kilometers from Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province to Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province, to build a 2-gigawatt power grid. As a mega-project with a total length of 440 kilometers, the tender must be issued in the first half of next year to ensure completion by 2030. An industry insider explained, "From the bid announcement to marine surveys, material procurement, production and testing, transportation, and installation, the process takes at least four to five years. The selection of contractors must be completed within the first half of next year to avoid schedule delays."

The global HVDC market is already facing a severe supply shortage. With only a limited number of companies capable of producing cables and converters, the risk of delivery delays is high, and the surge in power infrastructure investment has resulted in a supplier-driven market structure. In the United Kingdom, both phase 1 (scheduled for completion in 2029) and phase 4 (scheduled for completion in 2033) of the Eastern Green Link project have already finalized contractor selections. Industry experts believe that any delay in domestic project bidding will inevitably lead to schedule disruptions.

Submarine HVDC cables must be manufactured in single lengths of at least 50 kilometers, and the installation and connection processes must be performed in challenging offshore and subsea environments, making the construction highly complex. This further underscores the need for early tendering.

In this context, LS Marine Solution, the only domestic company with both experience in submarine HVDC cable installation and dedicated cable-laying vessels, is drawing attention. LS Marine Solution owns the "Segyero," a cable-laying vessel for communications cables; the "Miraero," a multipurpose burial vessel; and the "GL2030," a submarine power cable laying vessel. In March of this year, the company upgraded the GL2030’s loading capacity from 4,000 tons to 7,000 tons, extending the maximum duration of a single operation to one month.

LS Marine Solution has completed the construction of the 96-megawatt Jeonnam Offshore Wind Farm Phase 1 and has been selected as the preferred negotiating partner for the Anma (532 megawatts) and Taean (500 megawatts) offshore wind projects, with final contracts pending. Internationally, the company is responsible for installing the approximately 230-kilometer Busan to Fukuoka submarine optical cable for the "JAKO Project," which involves Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, and is also working on the submarine cable installation for Taiwan Power Company’s Offshore Wind Farm Phase 2. This marks the first overseas power grid contract won by a domestic submarine construction company.

LS Marine Solution’s order backlog is approximately 720 billion won, five times last year’s revenue of 130.3 billion won. An industry official commented, "The secured order backlog is equivalent to five years’ worth of future revenue, providing strong earnings visibility. If the West Coast HVDC contractor is selected early next year, growth will accelerate even further."

Growth prospects for LS Marine Solution are expected to improve further as LS Eco Energy’s submarine cable plant in Vietnam enters full-scale construction. In August, LS Eco Energy signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with PetroVietnam to build a submarine cable plant. Through this, LS Marine Solution has established itself as a key partner in the turnkey model encompassing both manufacturing and installation, and has laid the groundwork for entering the ASEAN HVDC power grid market, starting with Vietnam and expanding to Indonesia, Singapore, and beyond.