HD Construction Equipment Opens W116.8B Engine Plant for AI Data Centers
HD Construction Equipment's Gunsan plant can build 1,250 engines a year rated 1 to 3 MWe for on-site data-center power, but the company has named no customer for the DX37.
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HD Construction Equipment says the Gunsan plant can build 1,250 engines a year rated 1 to 3 MWe; the capacity is the company's claim.
Illustration (AI-generated)
HD Construction Equipment opened a 116.8 billion won ($87.5 million) engine plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on Oct. 28, aimed at the on-site power-generation demand of AI data centers, The Korea Herald reported, citing the company.
The company said the plant, built over two years on a 62,700-square-meter site, can make 1,250 power-generation engines a year rated at 1 to 3 megawatts electric (MWe). It also has capacity for 120 military tank engines and up to 1,460 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery packs a year, according to The Korea Times. The Korea Times, which covered the ceremony, noted that the plant uses assembly robots, autonomous mobile robots and defect-detection equipment.
The company said it is targeting demand for on-site power generation at AI data centers, where operators facing slow grid connections turn to on-site generation. The Korea Herald's Oct. 7 report on the company's US deal described the same driver: AI demand straining grids and lengthening connection times across North America. Voltgrid News reported earlier on INNIO's Jenbacher gas engine order from a US data center developer. None of the reports reviewed states which models will fill the 1,250-engine capacity, or when the plant reaches full output.
DX37, DX77 and DX50 Engine Schedule
The company targets DX37 mass production in H1 2027, then the DX77 in 2028 and DX50 in 2029; these are company targets, not orders.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Mass production of the 37-liter DX37, unveiled at the ceremony, is planned for the first half of 2027. A 77-liter, 3 MWe model follows in 2028 and a 50-liter, 2 MWe model in 2029. Reports differ on the DX37's rating. The Korea Times and The Elec give the 37-liter DX37 as 1.3 MWe, and JoongAng Daily writes that it powers 1.3-megawatt generators. The Korea Herald's Oct. 7 report on the ERock deal cited a 37-liter, 1.5-megawatt engine for 2027. The company also renamed its engine division Power Solutions. As a company target, it aims to lift engine revenue from 1.3 trillion won in 2025 to 2.5 trillion won by 2030, nearly doubling it, The Korea Times reported.
Enchanted Rock Engine Supply Deal
Earlier this month the company signed a supply deal of roughly 390 billion won with US power provider ERock, as the Oct. 7 Korea Herald report on the deal names it. That agreement covers 22-liter gas engine long blocks, partly assembled engines, for 2027 and 2028, which ERock will fit into generator sets for hyperscale data centers. The ERock engines are 22-liter, a different size from the 37-, 50- and 77-liter DX models that the Gunsan plant is built to launch, and the company has not said which lines will supply the ERock engines.
How Engines Become On-Site Data Center Power
A generator set pairs a large engine with a generator so a data center can make its own electricity while it waits for a grid connection. A long block is a partly assembled engine; ERock will fit the ones it buys into generator sets, according to the Korea Herald. ERock's 10-Q says its RockBlock generator strings run from 1.5 MW to 3.5 MW each.
What Is Still Unconfirmed
None of the reports reviewed names a customer for the DX37, DX50 or DX77, and none gives prices, delivery slots or the plant's current output. The company's capacity and schedule are its own statements, so the 2027 to 2029 dates are targets rather than orders.
