LS Cable & System (006260.KS) is joining hands with KEPCO Engineering & Construction (KEPCO E&C) to make a full-scale push into the floating offshore wind market.
LS Cable said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KEPCO E&C for cooperation in the floating offshore wind business.
The agreement focuses on building a cooperative framework that reflects cable conditions and specifications from the early stages of power grid design for wind farms, combining LS Cable's subsea cable technology with KEPCO E&C's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities.
The two companies plan to participate together from the initial engineering stage of projects to enhance the efficiency of power grids and cable systems and improve design quality.
Floating offshore wind installations, in which wind turbines and subsea cables are mounted on floating structures at sea, are continuously exposed to movement from waves and currents. This requires advanced design technology that comprehensively considers not only electrical performance but also mechanical loads, repeated fatigue and changes in the marine environment.
LS Cable became the first Korean company to develop a "dynamic subsea cable" capable of withstanding such extreme conditions. Currently, only LS Cable and a handful of European firms have secured ultra-high-voltage dynamic cable technology.
KEPCO E&C, drawing on power grid design experience and marine environment analysis capabilities accumulated through its onshore power plant EPC business, has built competitiveness in the integrated mechanical and electrical design required for dynamic cables.
The offshore wind market is gradually expanding into distant deep-sea areas as coastal development approaches saturation. As a result, demand for floating offshore wind is growing rapidly. Related projects are expanding primarily in Europe and Japan, and in Korea, large-scale floating offshore wind projects are being pursued mainly in waters off Ulsan.
"For floating offshore wind, participation in the early design stage is a key factor determining order competitiveness," an LS Cable official said. "Together with our subsidiary LS Marine Solution, we will enhance our competitiveness in the global market by leveraging turnkey capabilities that connect design, manufacturing, construction, and operation and maintenance."
