LG to build Virginia factory for AI data center air-cooled chillers

LG Electronics is building its first US factory to manufacture chillers for AI data center cooling, putting new air-cooled chiller capacity in Virginia as demand rises across North America. The company said the facility is intended to improve supply responsiveness for regional customers while also serving as a base for further expansion.

The Virginia site is planned as a 350,000-square-foot factory on a 43-acre site in Isle of Wight County. It will manufacture air-cooled chillers for AI data centers, with production scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger publicly disclosed the project, and LG Electronics North America President and CEO Don Kwack said the site is meant to support a “stable, responsive supply system” for North America.

Alongside the new US factory, LG is expanding air-cooled chiller production lines at its Pyeongtaek and Changwon facilities in South Korea. LG said it is adopting a conveyor-based production system designed for mass production, moving products through manufacturing on a single conveyor to improve operational efficiency and speed response to higher demand.

LG plans to invest a total of KRW 150 billion across the new Virginia facility and the Pyeongtaek and Changwon expansions. For data center operators, the practical takeaway is simple: chiller capacity is becoming a supply-chain problem as much as an HVAC design problem, and more regional manufacturing can reduce lead-time risk when schedules are tight and build phases stack up.

LG also tied the manufacturing expansion to its broader “Chip-to-Chiller” thermal management portfolio for AI data centers. That portfolio includes chillers, coolant distribution units (CDUs), and cold plates for direct-to-chip liquid cooling. (CDUs are systems that condition and circulate coolant between facility water loops and liquid-cooled IT loops.) LG said its direct-to-chip approach circulates coolant through cold plates and is intended to complement its air-cooling offerings; it also referenced cooling management systems, software, and power infrastructure as part of integrated data center solutions.

“This factory represents an important step in LG Electronics’ strategy to expand production capacity for advanced cooling technologies and better serve the rapidly expanding customer base in North America,” Kwack said.

LG Electronics said the Virginia investment will create more than 150 new jobs, and LG Electronics USA Air Conditioning Technology division President Chris Ahn said the plant is aimed at growing demand for advanced cooling solutions for data centers across the US.