Photograph) LS Materials employees producing ultracapacitors


■ One-year supply contract starts April 2027, outstrips last year's standalone revenue by 2.4 times
■ Follows earlier small-scale supply to same company, with additional contracts to be negotiated this year
■ Expanding presence in mid-to-large UC market dominated by small number of global players


LS Materials (CEO Hong Young-ho) has signed the largest export contract in the history of the domestic ultracapacitor (UC) industry, marking its full-scale entry into the AI data center (AIDC) power infrastructure market.

The company announced on the 13th that it will supply approximately USD 51.5 million (roughly KRW 69 billion) worth of UCs for AIDCs to a US hydrogen fuel cell company. This is equivalent to approximately 2.4 times last year’s standalone revenue of around KRW 29 billion. 

The UCs will be supplied in stages over about a year starting in April 2027, and additional supply contracts are currently under negotiation.

In July, LS Materials signed an initial supply contract with the same company worth approximately USD 4.7 million (roughly KRW 6.3 billion), with deliveries slated to begin in November. With this new contract, the total orders amount to approximately USD 56 million, and this could exceed USD 100 million if additional contracts are signed within the year.

Significantly, this is LS Materials' first order of UCs for AIDCs, marking an expansion of the company's business from industrial applications such as wind power turbines, automated guided vehicles, and uninterruptible power supplies, into the AI power infrastructure sector.

With the recent surge in power demand for AIDCs, the importance of hydrogen fuel cells to ensure stable power supply has grown significantly. UCs instantaneously charge and discharge large amounts of power to respond to sudden load fluctuations and play a role in stabilizing the output of hydrogen fuel cell systems.

Demand for UCs for hydrogen fuel cells is also expected to increase with the expansion of both the AIDC power infrastructure market and hydrogen fuel cell power generation facilities. As mid-to-large UCs require advanced technology and the market is driven by a small number of global players, continuous revenue growth is expected.

"This contract is highly significant as we have secured a new foundation for growth by making a full-scale entry into the hydrogen fuel cell market for AIDCs," said Hong Young-ho, CEO of LS Materials. "We intend to expand cooperation with our clients and aggressively target the global market by drawing on our technological prowess in the mid-to-large UC sector."