{
  "id": 10335699,
  "title": "Texas Gas Plant Creates ESS Opportunity for Korean Battery Makers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/texas-gas-plant-creates-ess-opportunity-for-korean-battery-makers",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-28T02:02:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BusinessKorea",
    "slug": "businesskorea",
    "url": "https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=277708"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As artificial intelligence data centers proliferate in the United States, driving up power demand, a novel power supply model involving gas generation alongside energy storage systems (ESS) is emerging as a lucrative opportunity for South Korea's battery industry. A recent strategic investment plan for the U.S., approved by the National Assembly, includes a 6.3-gigawatt (GW) combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Encinal, Texas, valued at approximately 30 trillion won ($22.1 billion). This project aims to provide stable power to nearby data centers with a combined capacity of 5 GW. Data centers necessitate significant power for hundreds of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs), resulting in variable demand and the potential for catastrophic outages. This underscores the need for high-quality power, which can be achieved through the combination of gas generation and ESS. McKinsey's report indicates that the growth in power grid and ESS infrastructure has been outpaced by the surge in generation capacity. South Korea's leading battery manufacturers are adeptly responding to this evolving demand by capitalizing on their U.S. production facilities. SK On is reallocating part of its U.S. ESS production capacity, including Plants 1 and 2 in Georgia, Tennessee, and the upcoming HSBMA plant, to cater to ESS applications. Both LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI are also expanding their LFP battery production lines for ESS use. This surge in power infrastructure investment is not only driving growth for the battery sector but also benefiting other power equipment companies, such as transformer and power cable manufacturers, as demand for transmission and distribution networks grows alongside data center development.",
  "summary": "As the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers (AIDCs) drives a sharp increase in power demand across the United States, a new power supply model combining gas generation with energy storage systems (ESS) is emerging as a new market for South Korea’s battery industry.According to industry",
  "key_points": [
    "Texas gas plant project valued at 30 trillion won ($22.1 billion)",
    "Combined-cycle gas-fired power plant to supply 5 GW data centers",
    "South Korean battery makers expanding production for ESS applications"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The emergence of a power supply model combining gas generation and energy storage systems presents a lucrative opportunity for South Korean battery makers to capitalize on growing demand in the US.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}