Visitors are looking around the LS Electric booth at the ‘Korea Smart Grid Expo 2024′ held at COEX. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) - The South Korean government is advancing plans to export integrated power plant and grid systems through public-private partnerships, despite growing market uncertainties surrounding the new Trump administration in the United States.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced these plans on February 4 during the kickoff meeting of the K-Grid Export Alliance, which brought together 15 companies and organizations including Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Southern Power, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, LS Electric, and the Korea Electric Association.
The alliance, launched last December, aims to capitalize on growing global demand for power infrastructure. K-Grid encompasses a comprehensive range of power equipment including electric cables, transformers, circuit breakers, as well as energy storage systems (ESS) and various power solutions.
Meeting participants agreed to develop detailed strategies for exporting integrated packages of power plants and grid systems. The initiative targets opportunities in markets like the United States, where aging power infrastructure, gas power plant construction, and increasing power demands from AI and data centers are creating new business opportunities.
The alliance plans to present a business model to the global market that combines Korean companies’ proven engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities, equipment manufacturing expertise, and KEPCO’s grid construction and operation technology.
The ministry, which announced its K-Grid global expansion strategy in December, has also detailed export promotion measures for 2025. The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation will continue offering enhanced support, including doubling the short-term insurance limits for transformer and power cable exporters and providing up to 20% discount on insurance premiums. The insurance coverage will be expanded to include energy storage systems.
Additionally, the ministry and the Korea Electric Association will consolidate the management of overseas exhibitions related to power grids and equipment, which were previously organized separately by different institutions.
“The global expansion of K-Grid represents more than just increased orders – it’s a crucial opportunity to elevate the global standing of our national power industry,” said Deputy Minister for Energy Policy Lee Ho-hyeon. “Through Team Korea, led by public enterprises and supported by technically robust private companies, we aim to establish K-Grid as a new model for energy cooperation, following the success of our nuclear power initiatives.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
