HD Construction Equipment has opened a 116.8 billion won ($87.5 million) engine plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, to ramp up production of high-capacity power-generation engines amid surging demand from AI data centers, the company said Wednesday.
Built over two years on a 62,700-square-meter site, the facility has an annual production capacity of 1,250 power-generation engines rated between 1 and 3 megawatts, as well as 120 military tank engines.
It can also produce 1,460 megawatt-hours of battery packs annually, enough to power approximately 9,400 electric buses, according to the company.
Targeting growing demand for on-site power generation at AI data centers, HD Construction Equipment plans to begin mass production of its 37-liter DX37 engine in the first half of 2027, followed by the 77-liter, 3-MW DX77 in 2028 and the 50-liter, 2-MW DX50 in 2029.
At the opening ceremony, the company unveiled the DX37 and introduced a new name for its engine division, Power Solutions, along with the slogan "Powering the Next."
The investment follows a roughly 390 billion won contract secured earlier this month to supply gas-powered generator engine components to US power infrastructure provider Enchanted Rock from 2027 to 2028.
Beyond data center power generation, the plant will produce military tank engines and battery packs for commercial vehicles, construction equipment and industrial applications.
The facility features automated assembly robots, autonomous mobile robots, defect-detection systems and centralized production monitoring to improve efficiency and quality control.
HD Construction Equipment aims to nearly double its annual engine business revenue from 1.3 trillion won in 2025 to 2.5 trillion won by 2030.
"We will develop future technologies in response to emerging energy demand and proactively create new business opportunities," CEO Moon Jae-young said at the ceremony. "Through these efforts, we aim to grow alongside the local community."
yejinlim@heraldcorp.com
