[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ]LG Uplus(032640)has partnered with global water treatment solutions company Ecolab Korea to establish operational standards for “liquid cooling,” a core technology for next-generation artificial intelligence data centers (AIDCs). The plan aims to significantly enhance data center thermal management capabilities in response to the surging demand for high-performance AI infrastructure.

LG U+ announced on the 28th that it had signed a “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Optimization of AI Data Center Cooling System Operations” with Ecolab Korea at its Yongsan headquarters in Seoul on the 27th. Key executives from both companies, including Jeong Sook-kyung, Executive Vice President in charge of the AIDC Business at LG Corp., and Ryu Yang-kwon, CEO of Ecolab Korea, attended the signing ceremony.

This collaboration is a response to the sharp increase in heat generated by data centers as the density of graphics processing unit (GPU) servers has risen due to the proliferation of AI services. While liquid cooling—which offers significantly higher cooling efficiency than traditional air cooling—has emerged as the standard for next-generation infrastructure, there is an urgent need to establish systematic operational standards, as equipment failures can occur due to deteriorating coolant quality or poor facility management.

The two companies will establish a standardized management system by combining LG Corp.’s expertise in AIDC construction and operation with Korea Ecolab’s global water treatment and cooling fluid technology. In particular, they will conduct joint technical validation to demonstrate the stability of the “TCS Loop (Technology Cooling System Loop),” which circulates cooling fluid by connecting AI server racks to cooling water distribution units.

To this end, LGU+ will provide a large-scale liquid cooling demonstration environment currently under construction at the Pyeongchon 2 Center. Korea Ecolab plans to introduce its proprietary digital water quality management monitoring system to develop guidelines for cooling fluid quality control. Furthermore, the two companies will jointly analyze the collected data to establish a monitoring system capable of reliably cooling high-heat-generating servers and detecting abnormal signs at an early stage.

Going forward, they plan to expand their collaboration into the area of “Predictive Maintenance,” which uses AI technology to predict potential equipment failures in advance and take proactive measures.

Jeong Suk-kyung, Executive Vice President in charge of the AIDC Business at LGU+, stated, “As AI data centers become increasingly high-density and generate more heat, liquid cooling operational capabilities have emerged as the core of infrastructure competitiveness.” She added, “Through this collaboration, we will establish unparalleled operational standards and quality management systems to provide customers with the most reliable AIDC environment.”

Ryu Yang-kwon, CEO of Ecolab Korea, said, “Building on Ecolab Korea’s global data center water treatment capabilities, we will work with LG Corp. to further enhance the reliability of liquid cooling operations.”