Press Release

Doosan Enerbility will soon be carrying out its first overseas export of gas turbines. The provision of Doosan’s homegrown gas turbines to the United States, a global leader of gas turbines, marks a significant milestone for the Korean power sector.

On October 13th, Doosan Enerbility announced that it had signed an agreement with a prominent U.S. technology company to provide two units of Doosan’s 380MW gas turbines. The two gas turbines are to be delivered by Doosan Enerbility by the end of next year.

By winning this contract, Doosan Enerbility secured its first overseas export deal for its gas turbines. In 2019, Doosan Enerbility had in collaboration with parties from the domestic industry, academia and research sectors succeeded in the local manufacturing of a large-scale gas turbine for power generation, making it the fifth in the world to successfully obtain its own gas turbine technology. A demonstration run of over 15,000 hours was then conducted at the Gimpo Combined Heat & Power Plant, through which the performance was verified. This was followed by the successive securing of supplier agreements for a total of eight gas turbines, which is leading to the expansion of the gas turbine business.

The surge in data centers’ electricity demand, driven by AI, played a key part in this recent contract win. As data centers around the world are facing difficulties in meeting the surging electricity demand with the existing power grid, they are all searching for a new source of energy. It was during this search that gas turbines started gaining attention, specifically due to the advantages it offered in terms of construction lead time, stability of electricity supply, rapid start-up and operating efficiency. Doosan Enerbility, which has its own suite of locally developed gas turbine models, is actively working to expand this area of business.

Doosan Enerbility’s Houston-based U.S. subsidiary, Doosan Turbomachinery Services (DTS), also contributed to the recent contract win. In the case of gas turbines, maintenance of the turbines is just as important as the initial delivery of the product. DTS will be handling the maintenance services for the gas turbines that are to be supplied by Doosan Enerbility to the U.S. market.

“This contract signifies a major turning point for South Korea, as this shows that our country is no longer dependent on imported gas turbines, but is now a country that has the capability to export its own homegrown gas turbines,” said Seungwoo Sohn, CEO of Doosan Enerbility’s Power Services Business Group. “We plan to show our appreciation to our customers by delivering on our commitments regarding product quality and deadline, while also working to expand our reach in the global market.”

▲ The 380MW gas turbine model developed and built by Doosan Enerbility