"Catching 2100% Power Surge in the US"...OCI Holdings, Alliance with LG Energy Solution and CPS on ESS

[Financial News] OCI Holdings is officially entering the North American energy storage system (ESS) market. To respond to the surge in local power demand in North America, they are expanding strategic partnerships with LG Energy Solution, CPS Energy, and others.
OCI Holdings announced on the 27th that they signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MOU) for ESS business cooperation with their U.S. subsidiary OCI Energy, CPS Energy, and Vertech at the OCI Building in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 26th.
This agreement is expected to be the starting signal for mid- to long-term cooperation, beginning with the 'Alamo City ESS LLC' project being promoted in San Antonio, Texas.
The Alamo Project is a combined power plant linking a 480MWh ESS with a 120MW solar facility, aiming for completion by the end of 2026. OCI Holdings signed a long-term power supply contract (SCA) with CPS Energy for about 20 years in December last year and plans to store the power produced with batteries supplied from Vertech and supply it to CPS.
CPS Energy is the largest regional energy company in the U.S., supplying electricity and natural gas to about 1.28 million households in Texas. OCI Holdings plans to expand cooperation with LG Energy Solution and CPS on 13 North American pipeline projects with a combined capacity of 3GW, combining ESS and solar power.
Cell production expansion is also underway. OCI Holdings is investing $265 million (about 380 billion KRW) to build a 2GW cell plant in San Antonio, Texas, to respond to North American tariff risks and the surge in power demand. They aim to produce 1GW in the first half and 1GW in the second half of next year.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), power demand for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the U.S. is expected to surge by about 2100%, from 4GW in 2023 to 84GW by 2030.
Texas, where major tech companies like OpenAI, Oracle, and Crusoe are concentrated, is a key base for OCI Energy, and this ESS and cell investment is also attracting attention in terms of U.S. energy security.
An OCI Holdings representative said, "We are strengthening strategic cooperation with LG Energy Solution, which has secured a North American production base, to respond to external uncertainties," adding, "We will expand cooperation centered on North American ESS projects that can complement the intermittency of solar power and provide stable power supply." moving@fnnews.com Lee Dong-hyuk Reporter