LS Group spearheads smart technologies for environment, solar industry

As the world transitions to renewable energy, demand for cables are growing as well, and LS Group is at the center of the transition.

LS Group is a South Korean conglomerate in the metal and cable business that was spun off from LG Group in 2003.

In his New Year’s message, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol laid out top priorities the group should pursue in the post-pandemic era -- cash generation, greater foothold overseas, digital transition, acceleration of eco-friendly initiatives and future growth businesses.

To achieve such goals in a sustainable manner, LS Group has put environmental, social and governance efforts at the center of its plan.

“LS Group will yield results ahead of schedule in new businesses such as solar-energy storage systems, smart grid and electric vehicle components. Through this, LS Group will create a virtuous cycle where it can contribute to the public interest and grow together with society,” Koo said.

For transparent governance, LS Group launched insider trading monitoring committees in its key affiliates this year. Since embarking on a digital transformation from 2015, LS group also aims to apply artificial intelligence, big data and smart energy technologies to the traditional manufacturing sector and leap forward as a digital and environment conglomerate.

LS Cable & System, the world’s third-largest wire and cable maker by sales, has recently expanded its product portfolio to the renewable energy sector, such as wind and solar power.

Last year, the company won bids for big projects in foreign countries including the US, Netherlands and Bahrain. It also signed a long-term supply deal with the world’s No. 1 wind power company Orsted. Under the agreement, the firm will become a preferential supplier of cables to Orsted for the next five years.

For Formosa 1, Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, LS Cable & System supplied all of the submarine cables in the project. Though different companies participated in the project, such as Denmark’s CIP, Belgium’s Jan De Nul and Germany’s WDP, they all chose to use LS Cable & System’s submarine cables.

With its experience in submarine cables, LS Cable & System also plays a key role in Korea’s solar industry, having developed the country’s first 22.9-kilovolt underwater cables for floating solar farms and direct current cables.

More than 30 solar farms are installed with the company’s cables, including Korea’s biggest solar power plant in Haenam, South Jeolla Province.

Also, LS Cable & System is expanding its footprint to the electric vehicle industry. The company recently signed a long-term deal with a global automaker to supply aluminum cables for EVs and motor cables.

Meanwhile, LS Group’s power solutions unit LS Electric is doubling down on its micro-grid business that helps small communities be self-sufficient on electricity.

As part of its green energy business, the company constructed megawatt-capacity solar power plants in Hokkaido and Ishikawa in Japan and Yeongam in Korea and began their commercial operation.

LS-Nikko Copper, the group’s copper smelting affiliate, is in the process of connecting all production stages with an online network and automating the whole process at its Onsan plant.

E1, a natural gas company under the group, after launching an independent power producer business, is making a foray into the renewable energy business. Last June, the company completed its construction of an 8-megawatt solar power plant in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)