LG Electronics will work with Korea Water Resources Corp to advance AI-based operations and digital transformation at the Sihwa tidal power plant. The two sides signed a technical cooperation agreement for an AI tidal power plant at the Sihwa Tidal Power Culture Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday, LG Electronics said.

The cooperation focuses on implementing an AI tidal power plant. It includes implementing a lighthouse factory, a leading plant that has achieved production innovation with advanced technology, and demonstrations of AI, digital twin and robots. It also covers joint responses in research and development and policy projects in renewable energy and AI transformation, as well as discovering overseas projects and entering markets. Based on K-water's power plant operating experience and data and LG Electronics' smart factory deployment experience, the partners will jointly review the possibility of applying AI to the Sihwa tidal power plant.

LG Electronics will demonstrate a digital twin-based integrated operating system that replicates real facilities in a virtual space. Linking real-time data from power generation facilities and CCTV after virtually transferring the entire tidal power plant makes it possible to forecast power generation and diagnose equipment status, the company explained. It will also review measures in which an EXAONE-based AI agent from LG AI Research supports predictive maintenance that detects signs of failure in advance, risk assessment and analysis of the causes of power generation losses.

For on-site automation, physical AI technology in which AI directly controls physical devices such as robots will be used. Multifunction patrol robots and AI CCTV will handle facility patrols, equipment inspections and monitoring of hazardous areas. Industrial robots will automate the storage and supply of spare parts and the transport of materials. The agreement expands LG Electronics' smart factory solution business from manufacturing and logistics to the energy and infrastructure sectors.

The smart factory solution business exceeded 1 trillion won in cumulative orders in the first half of this year, two years after its launch. Early on, customers were centered on manufacturing industries such as electronics, automotive components and batteries, and recently the customer base has expanded into logistics. The company plans to verify the feasibility of applying the technology at the Sihwa tidal power plant, the world's largest by power generation capacity. It aims to use the results as a reference case for expanding the business to domestic and overseas energy infrastructure projects.

Lee Seung-gi (이승기), head of LG Electronics' Smart Factory Solution Center, said, "It is meaningful that LG Electronics will apply smart factory capabilities accumulated at manufacturing sites to the public infrastructure sector." He said, "Together with Korea Water Resources Corp, we will support the digital transformation of the Sihwa Lake tidal power plant and raise the efficiency and safety of power plant operations."