LG Energy Solution is expanding its business beyond being a battery supplier into an energy platform company. LG Energy Solution said it was finally selected on Thursday as the operator for the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment’s 2026 support project for building AI-enabled energy storage systems (ESS).

The distribution-grid ESS construction support project is the first of its kind in South Korea. LG Energy Solution formed the Haetbit Distribution Grid Energy consortium with Shinhan Asset Management and took part in the tender. A total of 9 operators and 32 distribution lines were selected in the tender. LG Energy Solution secured 7 distribution lines, the maximum that a single operator can obtain. The total capacity is 140 megawatt-hours (MWh), with 20 MWh per line.

LG Energy Solution will handle the overall business, from supplying high-performance batteries to building ESS and AI-based operation. Shinhan Asset Management plans to create a stable business foundation by structuring financing using power market revenue, based on its experience managing solar funds. Commercial operation will start in 2027 and the operating period will be 20 years. This created a business structure combining technology and finance.

Regions with concentrated renewable energy, including Honam and Jeju, have substations and distribution lines at full capacity. This has led to output curtailment as projects wait to connect to the power grid or reduce generation. The project areas of South Jeolla and North Jeolla provinces are also facing connection delays and output curtailment as an increase in small-scale solar facilities exceeds allowable capacity on distribution lines. The government is moving to address these problems by building ESS on distribution lines to serve as a buffer.

Distribution-grid ESS is considered key infrastructure for the spread of distributed energy because it can increase grid acceptance in a short period without expanding large-scale transmission networks. LG Energy Solution plans to apply AI forecasting algorithms and virtual power plant (VPP) platform technology to newly link 40 megawatts (MW) of solar facilities waiting for connection and to additionally accommodate 52.4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy annually.

Kang Chang-beom (강창범), head of LG Energy Solution’s ESS battery business division, said, "This project selection is a meaningful achievement in the process of moving beyond being a battery supplier and becoming an energy platform company." He said, "We will accelerate business growth by leveraging our AI-based ESS operating capabilities and continue contributing to stabilising the national power grid."