Six of the nine operators chosen for the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment's 2026 AI-based ESS deployment project will use Samsung SDI cells, industry sources said Friday. One operator opted for LG Energy Solution cells and two turned to SK On.
Measured by capacity, consortia paired with Samsung SDI captured about 66 percent of the awarded volume. Those aligned with LG Energy Solution and SK On accounted for 22 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
The project installs storage systems on lines carrying renewable power and leans on AI to run them efficiently, easing chronic grid congestion in the sun-drenched southwestern provinces where solar output has outstripped existing capacity.
Samsung SDI plans to supply its all-in-one "SBB 1.5" solution, a 20-foot container packing high-nickel NCA prismatic cells, modules, racks and safety gear that plugs straight into the grid.
LG Energy Solution, though supplying fewer cells, emerged as a marquee operator, teaming with Shinhan Asset Management to graduate from battery vendor to virtual power plant player.
The company locked in the maximum allotment available to a single operator—seven distribution lines totaling 140 megawatt-hours—and said its AI forecasting and VPP platform would newly connect 40 megawatts of stranded solar capacity, absorbing an extra 52.4 gigawatt-hours of renewable power a year.
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