• LG Uplus has formed an alliance with GS E&C, Xi C&A, Gansam Architects and D&O CM to develop prefabricated modular data-centre designs
  • The partners are targeting 100MW-class AI facilities and building conversions, with no pilot site or completed modular facility announced yet

The fact

LG Uplus said on 6 September that it had formed a modular data-centre alliance with GS Engineering & Construction, Xi C&A, Gansam Architects & Partners and D&O CM. The companies signed the agreement two days earlier at LG Uplus's Pyeongchon Mega Center.

The group plans to develop two designs: one for 100MW-class AI data centres and another for converting existing buildings. Instead of completing most construction work at the site, some structural, electrical and cooling systems would be built in factories and then delivered for installation.

The aim is to shorten construction by allowing factory production and site preparation to happen at the same time. No pilot site or construction schedule has been announced, and the alliance has not yet completed a 100MW modular facility. For now, the work remains at the design and standardisation stage.

The assessment

Building a 100MW AI data centre involves fitting structural, electrical and cooling systems together on site. LG Uplus and its partners want to shift more of that work into factories, so modules can be produced while foundations and other site preparation move ahead. If the designs are repeatable, fewer tasks need to wait for earlier work to finish on site.

The limit is that a standard module still has to fit each project's power connection, cooling design, building structure and permits. The announcement does not say how much of a 100MW facility can be prefabricated or how many weeks the approach could save. For BTW readers, the first real test will be a project that uses the design. Its construction schedule will show which parts were built off-site, what still needed local redesign and whether parallel factory and site work actually shortened delivery.

What to watch

Watch for completion of the standard design, a named pilot site and a construction schedule comparing factory and on-site work. The important evidence will be how much structural, electrical and cooling equipment is actually prefabricated, how much site-specific redesign is required and whether the first project reaches commissioning faster than a conventional build.