LS Cable, LS Electric and KEPCO Agree to Build a Superconducting Data-Centre Grid
LS Cable & System, LS Electric and Korea Electric Power Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a superconducting power grid for a data centre, which the partners describe as the first of its kind. The design uses superconducting cables to carry high-capacity power at a low voltage, allowing much smaller substations. Reports place the project at a hyperscale data centre in Gapyeong, with completion targeted for 2028.
Three partners divided the work
On 10 July 2025, LS Cable & System, LS Electric and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a memorandum of understanding to construct what they call the world’s first superconducting power grid for data centres. Under the agreement, LS Cable & System designs and manufactures the superconducting cables, LS Electric supplies superconducting fault current limiters and other power equipment, and KEPCO handles technical verification and system arrangements.
The design trades voltage for a smaller footprint
The stated appeal is space. The system is built to carry 154 kV-class capacity of power while running at just 23 kV, because a superconducting cable moves far more current than a conventional cable of the same size. That lets the operator supply a site through compact stations roughly one-tenth the size of a full-scale substation, which matters where land near a data centre is scarce and expensive.
The fault current limiter that LS Electric contributes is itself a superconducting device: it sits in the circuit with almost no resistance until a short circuit forces it to quench, at which point it throttles the surge and then resets. Our applications article explains how that self-resetting behaviour works.
The project targets a hyperscale site by 2028
The official announcement does not fix a location or completion date, but DataCenterDynamics reported that the grid is intended for a hyperscale data centre in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, with completion targeted for 2028. If it proceeds, it would move superconducting cable from isolated demonstrations toward serving one of the fastest-growing categories of electrical load. Other superconducting cable installations are listed in our project tracker.