LG Electronics Applies Physical AI and Digital Twins to World's Largest "Sihwa Tidal Power Plant"

MOU signed with K-water
Real-time equipment diagnostics and power generation forecasts
EXAONE-based AI agents to be deployed

LG Electronics is joining forces with the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) to bring together its capabilities in smart factory businesses, including physical artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins, and upgrade the world's largest Sihwa Tidal Power Plant into an AI-powered next-generation tidal power plant.

LG Electronics said on the 22nd that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) at the Sihwa Tidal Power Culture Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, to collaborate on technology for the Sihwa Lake AI tidal power plant project. The image shows an example of advanced technologies, including AI, digital twins and robots, being applied at the Sihwa Tidal Power Plant. LG Electronics

LG Electronics said on October 22 that it had signed a "Technology Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Advance the Sihwa Lake AI Tidal Power Plant" with the Korea Water Resources Corporation at the Sihwa Tidal Power Culture Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The signing ceremony was attended by senior executives from both companies, including Lee Seung-gi, head of LG Electronics' Smart Factory Solution Center, and Oh Bong-geun, head of the Korea Water Resources Corporation's Renewable Energy Division.

The two companies will combine the Korea Water Resources Corporation's experience and data in operating power plants with LG Electronics' expertise in building smart factories to jointly assess and pursue ways to apply AI technology at the plant. LG Electronics will work with the corporation to apply and demonstrate digital-twin-based integrated operations technology, one of its smart factory solutions. The technology will create a virtual model of the entire tidal power plant and link real-time data from power generation equipment, CCTV cameras, and other sources to manage the plant's status centrally, predict power output, validate operational scenarios, and diagnose equipment conditions.

The companies will also explore ways to deploy AI agents tailored to tidal power plants using EXAONE, developed by LG AI Research. Based on a dashboard showing the plant's operational status, the AI agents will support analysis of the causes of power generation losses, detection of equipment abnormalities, predictive maintenance, risk assessments, and optimization of inspection schedules. They can analyze weather, sea-level changes, equipment conditions, and power generation data together to recommend optimal operating plans. They can also support decision-making by learning from operational data and technical documents accumulated through the plant's operations, while improving the efficiency of repetitive tasks such as report writing.

The companies will also collaborate on physical AI to automate work at the power plant. Multifunctional patrol robots and AI CCTV cameras will be used for facility patrols, equipment inspections, monitoring of restricted areas, and safety management to enhance operational safety. They also plan to automate tasks such as storing, managing, and supplying spare parts, as well as transporting materials, using industrial robots.

LG Electronics said the collaboration is significant because it will expand its smart factory solutions business beyond manufacturing and logistics into the energy and infrastructure sectors. The business is growing rapidly: in the first half of this year, just two years after its launch, cumulative orders exceeded 1 trillion won. LG Electronics plans to continue expanding its business into energy infrastructure projects in South Korea and overseas, using the Sihwa Tidal Power Plant as a stepping stone.

"It is significant that LG Electronics is applying the smart factory capabilities it has developed in manufacturing to public infrastructure," said Lee Seung-gi, head of the Smart Factory Solution Center. "Together with the Korea Water Resources Corporation, we will support the digital transformation of the Sihwa Lake tidal power plant and improve its operational efficiency and safety."

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