LG deepens AI data center cooling push with AIR deal

LG Electronics USA has signed a long-term supply agreement with AIR Control Concepts to provide advanced chillers for AI data centers in the United States and Canada. The multi-year program supports AIR’s project portfolio totaling more than 5 gigawatts of capacity across North America, but the companies disclosed no purchase volume, unit pricing, minimum commitment, or delivery schedule.

The arrangement gives LG preferred supplier status for AIR’s data center pipeline, positioning its Air-Cooled Centrifugal Chiller as the default platform when projects move into procurement. The system uses oil-free magnetic bearing compressors and refrigerant free-cooling, with LG citing an internal simulation in which a single 1,750 kW unit saved 30 percent energy annually versus waterside free-cooling under Seoul-area climate conditions.

The deal follows LG’s entry into the NVIDIA Partner Network as a Power and Cooling Solution Preferred Partner. Its 2.6-megawatt CDU qualified as an NVIDIA DSX Ready CDU, alongside certified units from LiquidStack and Vertiv, and LG plans to pursue qualification for a 4.0 MW CDU model before year’s end.

LG is also adding local manufacturing capacity, with plans to invest 150 billion Korean won (approximately $110 million USD) in its first US chiller factory in Windsor, Virginia. Production is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027, strengthening LG’s bid to compete with Vertiv and Schneider Electric in North American data center infrastructure.