Pranav Hotkar
Seoul, South Korea, September 8, 2025- LG Electronics has signed an MoU in Riyadh to supply advanced thermal-management solutions for next-generation data centers being developed by DATAVOLT, including a flagship AI facility planned in Oxagon, the industrial hub of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project. The agreement was reached during CEO William Cho’s regional visit as part of LG’s push to accelerate growth across the Global South.
Under the MOU, LG will work alongside DATAVOLT and long-time Saudi partner SHAKER Group, which manufactures and is the sole distributor of LG air conditioners in the Kingdom. The tie-up aims to equip hyperscale, AI-ready sites with high-efficiency cooling, initially centered on Oxagon and extending to additional projects in the Middle East and Asia.
DATAVOLT, headquartered in Saudi Arabia with operations spanning the U.S., Uzbekistan, India, and the UAE, is developing AI-focused, renewable-powered hyperscale campuses. “We are building a new generation of net-zero, AI-ready data centers,” said DATAVOLT CEO Rajit Nanda, framing cooling as a critical enabler for performance and sustainability.
LG said it will integrate large-scale chillers with coolant distribution units and is expanding its portfolio to propose complementary systems such as heat-recovery and DC power solutions to further improve efficiency. The initiative also aligns with LG’s “One LG Solution” strategy, opening the door to cross-group offerings, from LG Energy Solution’s batteries to LG CNS’s data-center design, build, and operations expertise.
The partnership underscores LG’s three-decade presence in Saudi Arabia through SHAKER and its growing HVAC footprint tailored to harsh regional conditions, including equipment with heat exchangers engineered for sandstorms and extreme temperatures. SHAKER CEO Mohammed Ibrahim Abunayyan said the collaboration will “drive innovation in advanced, energy-efficient cooling solutions” while supporting Saudi Arabia’s push to become a global technology hub.
Cho positioned the Middle East and Africa as priority markets amid government-led diversification programs and large-scale industrial developments. “The Middle East and Africa hold tremendous potential,” he said, noting LG’s intention to leverage its brand and differentiated AI-home and smart-solutions offerings to capture new growth. LG cited a Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency outlook forecasting 2025 non-oil GDP growth of about 4% across the Gulf Cooperation Council, its highest in three years.
Beyond Oxagon, DATAVOLT is investing in hyperscale capacity in Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and elsewhere in Asia. For LG, embedding its cooling technologies at the design stage of AI data centers represents a new growth engine within its HVAC business, and a way to deepen its role in the region’s digital infrastructure build-out.
