ULSAN — HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180) is investing more than 1 trillion won ($720 million) in new production facilities in Ulsan to stake out a position in the future energy market. The company plans to build a large-scale power generation engine line to meet surging electricity demand from the spread of artificial intelligence data centers, or AIDCs, and to add a plant dedicated to main components for small modular reactors, seen as the next generation of nuclear power, developing Ulsan into a global forward base for emerging energy industries.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the Ulsan city government are signing a memorandum of understanding on the investment to build the power generation engine and small modular reactor plants at Ulsan City Hall on the 22nd. Lee Sang-kyun, chief executive of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook are among those attending the signing ceremony.
The investment is divided into the power generation engine and SMR main component businesses, and construction on both facilities will begin in the first half of next year.
The facility for the HiMSEN engine, developed with the company's own technology, will be built on a site in Onsan-eup, Ulju-gun, with a total capacity of 3 gigawatts. The infrastructure is aimed at the market for emergency generators and multipurpose distributed power equipment as AI data centers expand rapidly. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries had initially considered building the plant in another region but settled on Ulsan, citing the city's sharp reduction in permit processing times and its ability to resolve regulatory issues on the ground.
The plant dedicated to SMR main components, which will produce core nuclear equipment, will be located within the main plant in Dong-gu. It will serve as a central hub for the stable production and supply of high-quality main components as the global small reactor market grows.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said it will carry out the large-scale facility investment without delay and will give priority to Ulsan residents when hiring staff to operate the new plants. The company also plans to make active use of local Ulsan suppliers in construction orders, equipment procurement and service contracts to maximize the spillover effect across the regional industrial ecosystem. The city government will provide administrative support across the board, including a fast-track permit process and eased investment rules, to ensure that construction and completion proceed smoothly.
"This investment is an important starting point for leading the future energy industry market," Lee said. "We will respond preemptively to surging power demand and take an early lead in the global AI infrastructure market."
"We warmly welcome HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' large-scale investment in production facilities, which opens up the region's future," Kim said. "We will join forces and do our utmost so that Ulsan can grow into a world-class production base for the energy industry."
