LG CNS Introduces Next-Generation Liquid Cooling at Samsong Data Center

[Financial News] LG CNS is joining forces with NAVER Cloud to begin full-scale work on building infrastructure for next-generation cooling technology, known as liquid cooling. As generative AI spreads and increases the power consumption and heat output of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), the company will proactively apply large-scale liquid cooling technology to data centers as a complement to existing air cooling systems.
LG CNS said on the 26th that it will work with NAVER Cloud to apply direct chip cooling (DTC), one of the liquid cooling technologies, to the Samsong Data Center and lay the groundwork for supporting high-performance AI services.
LG CNS previously took over outsourced operations of the Samsong Data Center and signed a colocation contract for the facility with NAVER Cloud. The new liquid cooling infrastructure will be built to ensure that NAVER Cloud can stably operate NVIDIA Corporation's next-generation ultra-high-performance GPU, Rubin, which is owned by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Rubin is expected to deliver inference performance about 3.3 times higher than the existing NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra. LG CNS said the Samsong Data Center will gain added significance as a key base for building an AI Factory, as Rubin is set to be fully deployed at domestic data centers based on liquid cooling infrastructure. With a total power supply capacity of 80 MW, the Samsong Data Center is expected to establish itself as one of the country's largest AI Factories.
DTC, which will be applied at the Samsong Data Center, is a liquid cooling method that attaches a cooling plate through which coolant flows to the GPU chip to absorb heat. It uses liquid, which transfers heat more efficiently than air, to effectively control the heat generated by densely packed GPU servers. In general, the cooling capacity that existing air cooling systems can handle is limited to about 20 to 30 kW per rack, while high-performance GPU server racks are seeing power density rise above 200 kW. As a result, liquid cooling technologies such as DTC are drawing attention as essential for building AI Factories.
According to market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global data center liquid cooling market is projected to grow from $4.07 billion in 2026 to $27.65 billion in 2033.
In response, LG CNS will combine its data center design, build and operation (DBO) capabilities with AI infrastructure technology to deliver an integrated system covering DTC liquid cooling, GPU server operating environments, power supply systems and the foundation for AI platform operations. NAVER Cloud plans to provide stable high-performance AI services to public institutions and companies in South Korea, backed by its AI platform operations expertise and experience running large-scale GPU services. The two companies aim to complete the construction and verification of the liquid cooling infrastructure by next year.
Cho Heon-hyeok, managing director in charge of the data center business at LG CNS, said, "Data center cooling technology is becoming a core competitive edge in AI service quality and operational efficiency." He added, "In partnership with NAVER Cloud, we will continue building key infrastructure that supports the growth of South Korea's AI ecosystem, based on LG CNS's strengths in data center DBO capabilities and next-generation cooling technology."

[email protected] Youn Ji-an Reporter