[On-Site] From Nuclear Power to Home Appliances and Steel... The Boundaries of the Climate Industry Are Disappearing

2026 Climate Industry International Expo

Doosan Showcases SMRs and Offshore Wind; Hanwha Presents Solar Solutions; Korea Zinc Displays Critical Minerals

AI Boom Highlights Power Supply — Generation, Storage, and Transmission Technologies on Display

Taihan Cable Unveils HVDC Submarine Cables; POSCO Introduces Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking

On the 16th, at the exhibition hall of the '2026 Climate Industry International Expo (WCE)' held at BEXCO in Busan, just a few steps from the entrance brought visitors into a space featuring large-scale nuclear power plants, small modular reactors (SMR), and offshore wind turbines all in one place. At the booth prepared by Doosan Enerbility, a model of a nuclear power complex took center stage, with key SMR equipment and a model of a 10MW-class offshore wind turbine displayed side by side. Further inside, visitors found displays of solar power, energy storage systems (ESS), critical minerals, and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cables, one after another.

At first glance, these may seem like disparate industries, but they share a commonality. The rise of the AI era, which demands more electricity generation, and the climate crisis, which requires reducing carbon emissions, have simultaneously driven changes in industry. Now in its fourth year, the WCE provided a compressed overview of these shifts.

The WCE was launched in 2023 when various energy, environment, and carbon neutrality-related exhibitions and conferences, previously held separately by government ministries and agencies, were merged into a single event. At that time, 11 central government ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (formerly Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Resources) and the Ministry of Environment, as well as the City of Busan, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Energy Agency, and a total of 14 institutions held the event jointly.

The main themes of the exposition have also changed over the past four years. In 2023, the inaugural event was themed "Surpassing the Climate Crisis, Towards Sustainable Prosperity." In 2024, the event became more specific with the theme "The Era of Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Enabled by Climate Technology." Last year, the focus shifted to "Energy for AI, AI for Energy," highlighting the surge in electricity demand due to AI proliferation and the adoption of AI in the energy industry. The theme for this year is "A Giant Transformation Driven By Climate Tech: Leaping Towards a Decarbonized World." What began as a broad discourse on addressing the climate crisis has, over the past four years, come to emphasize how actual industries and technologies are changing.

The scale has also become one of the largest climate and energy industry events in Korea. This year, about 550 domestic and international companies participated. The exhibition space was divided into five pavilions: Environmental Energy, Clean Electricity, Meteorology & Climate Industry, Future Energy, and Carbon Neutrality. The event now encompasses not only climate tech and renewable energy but also AI energy and solutions for the environment and meteorology, significantly broadening its scope.

On the 16th at BEXCO in Busan, large-scale nuclear power plant and small modular reactor (SMR) equipment models were displayed at the Doosan Enerbility exhibition hall during the "2026 International Climate Industry Expo." Photo by Kang Nahum

The Climate Expo Transformed by AI... From 'How Clean' to 'How Much and How Stable'

This year's main theme across the exhibition hall was 'securing power'. As much as the technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, the challenge of meeting ever-increasing electricity demand came to the forefront of major companies' displays. This was driven by the rise of facilities such as AI data centers and semiconductor factories, which consume massive amounts of electricity around the clock.

The Doosan Enerbility booth was the most comprehensive embodiment of this trend, bringing together virtually all power generation types in a single space, from large nuclear reactors to SMRs, offshore wind power, and gas turbines.

On one wall, a sign prominently read, "World's First Dedicated SMR Manufacturing Facility." Doosan Enerbility plans to complete a dedicated SMR factory in 2028 by leveraging its experience in manufacturing core nuclear components and its smart factory technology. The company is also expanding cooperation in supplying equipment with global SMR developers such as NuScale Power, X-energy, TerraPower, and Rolls-Royce SMR.

Nearby, a gigantic model of a 10MW-class offshore wind turbine was on display. Doosan Enerbility introduced that it has been pushing for offshore wind turbine localization since 2005 and has increased the localization rate of its 10MW-class turbines to over 70%. Rather than being competing energy sources, nuclear power and wind power have appeared in the same exhibition hall as complementary solutions to meet surging electricity demand.

SK presented a similar exhibition. Its booth combined offshore wind power, ESS, SMR, and LNG combined heat and power generation. Intermittency of renewable energy is addressed through ESS, and SMRs provide a stable baseload power supply. SK is preparing next-generation SMRs in partnership with TerraPower and is pursuing an integrated energy solution business encompassing everything from renewable energy to storage and power generation.

On the 16th, at the '2026 International Climate Industry Expo' held at BEXCO in Busan, models of production facilities related to key minerals such as bismuth, tellurium, germanium, and gallium were displayed at the Korea Zinc exhibition hall. Photo by Nahum Kang

Building Power Plants Isn't Enough... Decarbonization Now Expands to Power Grids and Minerals

Another key change evident at this year's expo was that the scope of the decarbonization industry is rapidly expanding beyond power generation sources.

At the Korea Zinc booth, key minerals including bismuth, tellurium, germanium, and gallium were exhibited. These are crucial for semiconductors, AI, electric vehicles, batteries, and the defense industry. Korea Zinc introduced its resource circulation business, in which it recovers gold, silver, copper, and nickel from electronic waste, spent batteries, and industrial byproducts, alongside plans to expand its production of key minerals such as gallium and germanium.

At the Taihan Cable booth, a 525kV HVDC submarine cable and a dynamic submarine cable for floating offshore wind farms were displayed. These are essential for transmitting the electricity generated in the West Sea to major demand centers such as the Seoul metropolitan area. The company plans to begin HVDC submarine cable production at its second Dangjin submarine cable plant, scheduled to be completed in 2027, which will include a 187-meter-tall VCV tower.

For solar energy, the emphasis has shifted from solar panels themselves to their integration with power systems. Hanwha Q Cells showcased a virtual power plant (VPP) and a direct power purchase agreement (PPA) system, both of which use AI to integrate and control distributed energy resources such as solar energy and electric vehicles. Next-generation tandem cells, which combine silicon cells with perovskite, were also on display.

Offshore wind power company Ørsted set up a space where visitors could experience a genuine offshore wind construction site using VR headsets. Ørsted has built and operates 10.2GW of offshore wind facilities worldwide, and in Korea it is developing the 1.47GW Incheon Offshore Wind 1 and 2 projects.

On the 16th, at the '2026 International Climate Industry Expo' held at BEXCO in Busan, a visitor at the Ørsted exhibition booth is wearing a virtual reality (VR) device to experience an offshore wind power site. Photo by Nahum Kang

Climate Industry Includes Steel and Home Appliances... The Boundaries of an 'Energy Industry Exposition' Are Disappearing

Not only power generators and energy equipment companies, but also decarbonization technologies developed by industries such as steel and home appliances that consume electricity, made up a significant part of the exhibition.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics both featured heat pumps and high-efficiency heating, cooling, and air-conditioning systems. Samsung Electronics highlighted large-scale central air-conditioning technology to control the heat output of AI data centers, as well as AI-powered home appliances. LG Electronics showcased its Smart Cottage, which combines solar energy, AI appliances, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), along with its heat pump products. This demonstrates that technologies to reduce electricity consumption in buildings and households have become just as important as power generation itself.

POSCO Group featured its HyREX hydrogen reduction steelmaking process. The company aims to complete a Korean-type HyREX demonstration plant at the Pohang Steelworks in 2028 and to finish commercial technology development by 2030. It also presented a vision for connecting renewable and nuclear-based carbon-free power and hydrogen infrastructure to the steel production process.

While the first expo in 2023 focused on bringing together various technologies to address the climate crisis, the fourth year of the expo now emphasizes how these technologies are integrated within actual industrial systems. The expo runs until the 18th. Across 550 participating companies, a wide range of technologies in nuclear power, renewable energy, power grid, key minerals, and high-efficiency equipment are displayed in the climate and energy sectors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.