LG Philippines targets data centre cooling demand as AI spurs growth

LG Philippines is positioning itself to tap into the growing HVAC market for local data centres, driven by AI expansion and rising data storage needs. The firm has opened an HVAC Academy and Business Innovation Center in Pasig to support this push.

LG Philippines, Inc. said on Friday it is positioning itself to tap into the growing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) market for local data centres, as demand for data storage continues to rise with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI).

Although the HVAC market remains concentrated in the residential and construction sectors, the company expects demand from data centres to grow in the next few years, Ryan Cañete, LG’s commercial air conditioning (CAC) sales team leader, said.

“The trend right now is mostly residential or ongoing construction,” Mr. Cañete told reporters during the launch of LG’s HVAC Academy and Business Innovation Center (BIC). “But in the near future, next year or the year after, it will be more commercial, including data centres,” he added.

Vanlee Budod, LG’s chiller sales part leader, said the local expansion of data centres is mainly driven by the AI boom and the growing data storage requirements of enterprises. “When AI is developing, data centres are also growing because of cloud storage and everything,” Ms. Budod told reporters.

According to Mordor Intelligence, a market research firm, the Philippine data centre market is projected to double in value to US$2.37 billion in 2031 from US$850 million in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate of 22.88 per cent.

Ms. Budod said LG also aims to provide HVAC systems for data centres that may be built in Luzon under PAX SILICA, a US-led technology initiative. The Philippine government said in August that no large AI or hyperscale data centres would be built within the project site. “That is their comment. But for us, we’re just preparing also,” Ms. Budod said, referring to the government’s remarks.

LG Electronics Philippines has opened its new HVAC Academy and Business Innovation Center (BIC) at Silver City in Pasig, a dedicated space where customers, partners, contractors and developers can learn about and explore the company’s business solutions. “The opening of the HVAC BIC is about bringing technology and expertise closer to the people who use them every day,” Nakhyun Seong, managing director of LG Electronics Philippines, Inc., said in a statement.

The HVAC BIC is expected to hold at least four sessions per week through an invitation-based or by-request scheme, Ms. Budod said. LG is also considering partnering with government agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) by next year to provide Filipinos with HVAC training.