A business initiative to reduce heat generated during IT server operations using liquefied natural gas (LNG) is now in full-scale implementation, and is expected to reduce annual power consumption by 60% upon construction. In relation to ESG management trends, it is anticipated to gain prominence as an eco-friendly cooling method going forward.

Korea Gas Corporation (President Chae Hee-bong) announced on the 22nd that it has recently signed a 'Business Development Agreement (MOU) for LNG Cryogenic Heat Utilization' with KT (Representative Director Koo Hyun-mo).

Through this MOU, the two companies have agreed to cooperate closely in various fields including △feasibility review of data center projects utilizing LNG cryogenic heat △technical safety verification △domestic and international business development.

A data center is a facility that consolidates and operates IT servers in a designated space, and approximately 30% of the total power used in data centers is consumed for cooling due to the significant heat generated during operations.

With this initiative, Korea Gas Corporation plans to work with KT on developing a cooling system utilizing LNG cryogenic heat for the first time globally, thereby dramatically reducing the power required for data center operations.

LNG cryogenic heat is unutilized energy generated in the process of vaporizing LNG at -162℃ to 0℃ (Korea Gas Corporation's annual volume: 4 million Gcal), and if LNG cryogenic heat is utilized to maintain appropriate data center temperatures, it is expected to reduce annual cooling power consumption by 60%.

If an LNG cryogenic heat-based cooling system is installed at large-scale data centers such as KT's Yongsan Data Center, it would be possible to save approximately 12MWh of power per hour at maximum, which is equivalent to the power consumption reduction of approximately 30,000 households using 400Wh (average hourly power usage of one household in Seoul).

Additionally, when 100 tons of LNG cryogenic heat per hour is utilized, it is possible to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 16,000 tons, thereby actively contributing to the government's carbon neutrality policy.

Chae Hee-bong, President of Korea Gas Corporation, stated, "This MOU is another step forward for Korea Gas Corporation to pursue carbon neutrality based on LNG cryogenic heat along with the construction of the Incheon New Port Cold Chain Cluster," and "Going forward, we will accelerate domestic and overseas cryogenic heat utilization projects with our distinctive LNG cryogenic heat business capabilities to secure future new growth engines."

Meanwhile, data centers generate heat from numerous servers and storage devices, making cooling devices essential, and due to the large amount of energy consumed, carbon emissions are substantial.

In response, many companies have recently adopted various eco-friendly cooling methods including air-cooled cooling devices, LNG, and liquid-cooled cooling devices for data center cooling, and it is expected that the application and development of eco-friendly cooling devices will be active in relation to future ESG management practices.