South Korean battery makers target ESS growth in US and domestic markets

The South Korean battery industry is expanding its presence in the Energy Storage System (ESS) market, driven by rising demand from AI data centers and major domestic government contracts.

In the United States, a strategic government-led project to construct a 6.3GW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Texas is expected to supply electricity to nearby AI data centers. This initiative creates opportunities for Korean battery manufacturers to integrate ESS with gas power generation to ensure the high power quality and stability required by GPU-intensive data centers. Major players like SK On, LG Energy Solution, and Samsung SDI are already adapting their U.S. production capacities to meet ESS demand, including transitioning lines to produce Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries.

Domestically, South Korea is launching its third round of ESS central contract market bidding, which is expected to be the largest to date with a scale of approximately 2 trillion won. This round will focus heavily on domestic industrial contribution, evaluating how much companies utilize local supply chains for materials, components, and maintenance. The three major battery makers—LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On—are competing to secure these contracts by strengthening their domestic production bases and securing local raw materials.