LG secures cooling supply deal for AI data-center projects exceeding 5 GW

LG Electronics USA has secured a multiyear route into AI data-center projects totaling more than 5 gigawatts of capacity. Its October 5, 2026 agreement with AIR Control Concepts covers chiller supplies in the United States and Canada, tying LG’s cooling business to a portfolio of projects rather than a single construction bid.

A portfolio agreement, not one project

Under the long-term contract, LG will provide advanced chillers for large-scale AI data-center developments. The more-than-5-GW figure describes the capacity of the projects the supply program supports; it is not a stated measure of the chillers’ cooling output. LG describes the arrangement as a move beyond competing for individual projects.

AIR oversees major infrastructure projects across North American data-center hubs and serves large global data-center operators. Its organization includes more than 50 operating companies, according to Facilities Dive, spanning businesses such as Advanced Thermal Solutions, Air Mission Critical and Energy Transfer Solutions. That gives the agreement a customer-facing infrastructure platform on AIR’s side, alongside LG’s equipment supply.

LG’s high-efficiency chiller technology gives us a proven platform we can deploy with confidence across our AI data center portfolio, and this agreement positions AIR to support our customers’ growth for years to come.

Brad Hobbs, CEO of AIR Control Concepts

Two cooling approaches, one simulated comparison

The equipment highlighted in LG’s announcement is its air-cooled centrifugal chiller. It incorporates what LG calls refrigerant free-cooling: using cool outdoor air to reduce the cooling load placed on the compressor. The mechanism is meant to reduce the work required from the machine, rather than rely entirely on mechanical cooling.

The comparison is with waterside free-cooling, which also uses cold outside air to supplement a mechanical chiller. LG says its approach can consume approximately 30% less energy annually than that alternative. This is a comparison between two cooling methods, not a claim that an entire AI data center would use 30% less electricity.

The basis for that percentage is narrower than the agreement’s geographic reach. LG derived it from an internal simulation, not a reported operating result from the U.S. and Canadian projects covered by the contract. Its announcement specifies three conditions behind the calculation:

• A single unit rated at 1,750 kilowatts.
• Operation at 100% cooling capacity.
• Climate conditions in the Seoul metropolitan area.

LG cautions that actual energy consumption can vary with installation and operating conditions. The simulation therefore supplies a defined efficiency claim, not a uniform savings promise across AIR’s portfolio. Outdoor climate is part of the stated test setup, so the Seoul-based result should not be treated as a measured outcome for every North American site.

Orders already booked versus growth still expected

The agreement enters a cooling business that already has substantial orders. LG says first-half 2026 orders for data-center cooling solutions exceeded $428 million, a figure it highlighted in its second-quarter earnings report. That is an order total for the business, not the disclosed value of the AIR contract.

The forward-looking numbers are more ambitious. LG expects cooling orders to reach several billion U.S. dollars by year-end. It also expects to reach its 2027 chiller-business revenue target of approximately $680 million ahead of schedule. Orders and revenue are different measures, and the two forecasts should not be read as interchangeable descriptions of current sales.