Cowin Tech said on Aug. 27 it signed an 8.5 billion won supply contract with local company DFS for assembly robots and autonomous mobile robots for energy storage systems.

Cowin Tech will supply dedicated robots, via DFS, to assembly plants of South Korean energy storage system and battery manufacturers. Items include industrial robots that automatically assemble battery packs into ESS enclosures, low-profile autonomous mobile robots that transport parts and materials between processes, and ultra-heavy autonomous mobile robots that move loads weighing tens of tonnes. The contract runs through February 2027.

The government announced plans to build artificial intelligence data centres by 2029 through three mega projects. As data centre construction and power infrastructure investment gather pace, energy storage systems are becoming more important. Expanding investment in data centres and power facilities by South Korean AI infrastructure companies is expected to increase benefits from capacity expansion across the ESS industry.

The company said the order secured new customers in addition to its existing ones and diversified its customer portfolio. It expects robot orders to increase in South Korea and North America as investment in AI data centres and power infrastructure expands.

A Cowin Tech official said, "After signing a 20.4 billion won North America-bound ESS robot automation supply contract in March, we have also secured this order from a domestic manufacturer, rapidly expanding our footprint in the market." The official added, "We are also discussing additional supply contracts with global ESS manufacturers, so we will quickly pre-empt the global market based on our competitiveness in customised robots that can be deployed immediately at industrial sites."