POSCO and GS team up on AI data centers, combining steel, power and cooling from the design stage

[Financial News] POSCO and GS Group have joined forces to target the AI data center market. POSCO will participate from the early design stage in GS Group’s domestic AI data center project, valued at 15 trillion won, supplying customized steel materials and technical solutions. The two companies plan to shorten construction timelines and reduce construction and operating costs while jointly identifying business opportunities in overseas markets, including North America and Asia.
■Steel and energy technologies to be combined in 15 trillion won AI data center projectPOSCO and GS Group signed an MOU on “Strategic Cooperation in the AI Data Center Business” on the 11th at GS Tower in Gangnam District, Seoul, with POSCO President Heegeun Lee and GS Group Vice Chairman Hong Soon-ki among those in attendance.
The agreement centers on an early vendor involvement (EVI) approach, under which POSCO participates from the initial design stage of data centers. Rather than simply supplying steel after designs have been finalized, as has been the case until now, POSCO will propose customized materials and technical solutions from the design stage to reduce construction time and costs.
POSCO plans to explore the use in data center construction and power facilities of PosMAC, an ultra-corrosion-resistant alloy-coated steel sheet, as well as electromagnetic shielding materials and high-efficiency electrical steel. It is also considering applying to data center operations the technologies for improving power generation, heating and cooling efficiency that it has developed through operating its steel mills.
GS Group will draw on its own capabilities in data center development, power supply, design and construction, cooling, and other aspects of infrastructure development and operations. The plan is to link GS Engineering & Construction’s design and construction capabilities, GS Caltex’s liquid-cooling technology and GS Group’s capabilities in power generation and energy with POSCO’s steel materials and design-support technologies.
GS Group is currently pursuing a large-scale AI data center project in Donghae, Gangwon Province. Through its dedicated entity, GS AI Infra, it plans to complete data centers with a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW) in phases from 2028 at the Bukpyeong 2nd General Industrial Complex. It plans to add another 1.2 GW afterward, expanding the total capacity to 2.4 GW.
The projected investment for the first phase of the Donghae data center project, with a capacity of 1.2 GW, which GS Group announced last September, is approximately 15 trillion won. In October, it obtained a construction permit for its first 100-megawatt (MW)-class data center.
■Building on domestic projects, targeting North America and AsiaPOSCO also established a Future Demand Development Office this year and is working to identify steel demand in emerging industries such as AI data centers and power grids. It is expanding the development of related products and technical solutions, from structural steel for data center buildings to high-value-added steel materials for power and cooling equipment.
The two companies plan to expand their cooperation into overseas markets after building a track record in the development and operation of domestic projects. They will use POSCO’s global steel business network and GS Global’s overseas network to jointly identify AI data center business opportunities in North America, Asia and other regions. To this end, they plan to form a working-level consultative body and flesh out plans for building equipment supply chains, developing technologies and responding to overseas projects.
GS Group Vice Chairman Hong Soon-ki said, “We will enhance our business competitiveness by combining GS Group’s data center development capabilities with POSCO’s world-class competitiveness in steel materials and solutions,” adding, “We will continue to identify new growth opportunities in the global AI infrastructure market.”
POSCO President Heegeun Lee said, “By combining POSCO’s next-generation steel solutions and design-support capabilities with GS Group’s infrastructure value chain, we will secure a firm leadership position in the global AI data center market.”      

[email protected] Kim Mi-hee Reporter