HD Construction Equipment has opened a new engine and battery-pack plant in Gunsan, South Korea, with capacity for 1,250 power-generation engines a year. The company plans new high-output models for AI data-centre demand, making this a tangible expansion of the hardware behind the AI build-out.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The 116.8 billion won plant has annual capacity for 1,250 power-generation engines rated at 1 to 3 megawatts, 120 military engines and battery packs totalling up to 1,460 megawatt-hours. It also includes automated production systems, assembly robots and autonomous mobile robots.
The Korea Times reports that HD Construction Equipment plans to start producing a 37-litre, 1.3-MWe engine in the first half of next year, followed by a 3-MWe model in 2028 and a 2-MWe model in 2029. The company unveiled the DX37 engine at the opening and aims to grow annual engine-business revenue from 1.3 trillion won in 2025 to 2.5 trillion won by 2030. Read the report.
Why it matters
AI data centres need dependable power as well as processors. This plant is not an AI facility, and its output also serves military and other markets, but the planned generator models make the link to data-centre demand explicit. The useful measure will be whether planned production turns into engines delivered at meaningful scale.
Our read
AI infrastructure stories often stop at the chip. This one follows the less glamorous supply chain into generators, batteries and factory capacity. The figures make the expansion concrete; the company’s revenue target remains a target, not a result.
What to watch
- Whether production of the 1.3-MWe engine begins on the stated schedule.
- How much of the plant’s output goes to AI data centres.
- Whether the later high-output models and 2030 revenue target arrive as planned.
Discussion spark: Should AI data-centre builders prioritise dedicated grid connections, or treat on-site engines and batteries as a necessary part of reliable power?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (28 October 2026, 07:31 UTC)
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