SK Gas LNG Cold Energy: How Much Of The AI Data-Center Cooling Option Can Become Earnings?

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:48:00 +0900

Related context This follows SK Gas vs SK Oceanplant, AI data-center power bottleneck map, and AI data-center CapEx bottlenecks. The related hubs are the Exclusive Analysis Hub and the Korean Semiconductor Value Chain Hub.

TL;DR

The right wording matters. The confirmed fact is not that SK Gas has disclosed a commercial AI data-center cooling project. The confirmed fact is that an SK Gas engineer published the technical logic for connecting LNG cold energy with AI data-center cooling through SK Group’s DevOcean channel.

The January 2, 2025 DevOcean post, authored by Byeon Jae-jun of SK Gas, says he works on a task force linking LNG cold-energy utilization technology with AI data centers. The post explains that LNG produces about 0.2 MWh of cold energy per ton when warmed from about -162°C liquid to about 5°C gas, and that most of this cold energy is currently discarded through seawater heat exchange.¹

The investment conclusion is precise:

Item	View
Confirmed	SK Gas-linked technical logic exists. Ulsan LNG infrastructure and the SK-AWS AI data-center direction are publicly visible.
Investment logic	LNG cold energy is not new cooling energy. It is the reallocation of otherwise wasted low-temperature energy from LNG vaporization into data-center cooling load.
Unconfirmed	Actual commercial contract, target PUE, realized PUE improvement, tariff, capex, payback, AWS/SK economics and SK Gas margin attribution remain undisclosed.

So SK Gas is not a pure “cold-energy theme stock.” The cleaner thesis is undervalued core energy-infrastructure earnings plus an under-modeled AI data-center cooling option.

1. Why Ulsan Matters

LNG cold energy is hard to move over long distances. The key condition is physical proximity between the LNG terminal and the data center. Ulsan may satisfy that condition.

KET, a joint venture between Korea National Oil Corporation and SK Gas, operates an energy storage terminal in Ulsan North Port and began commercial operation of its oil and LNG terminal in 2024.² SK Telecom has also announced that it is working with AWS on an AI data center in Ulsan, using SK Group land and energy supply capabilities.³

SK Gas also has Ulsan GPS, an LNG/LPG dual-fuel combined-cycle power plant. SK Gas sold a 49% stake in Ulsan GPS for KRW 1.2242 trillion while retaining 51% control.⁴ This makes Ulsan a combined power, LNG terminal, cooling and AI data-center campus candidate rather than a generic LNG story.

Cooling is important, but the common claim that cooling is 30-40% of all data-center power should not be applied to all modern hyperscale facilities. IEA data show that cooling and environmental control may be around 7% in efficient hyperscale data centers, while it can exceed 30% in less efficient enterprise data centers.⁵

That distinction matters. LNG cold energy may lower electric chiller load, but the actual PUE benefit depends on facility design, rack density, cooling loop efficiency, pumps, heat exchangers, backup chillers and utilization matching.

3. How The System Would Work

The simplified chain is:

Step	Meaning
LNG storage	LNG is stored near -162°C.
Vaporization	LNG must be warmed and vaporized before use. Cold energy is released in the process.
Recovery	Instead of discarding that cold energy into seawater, a heat-exchange system captures it.
Coolant loop	Refrigerant or brine loops move the cooling effect safely toward the data-center cooling plant.
Data-center cooling	Electric chiller load can be reduced.
Redundancy	Mission-critical data centers still need backup chillers, pumps and control systems.

The value is real only if cold recovery, reliability, capex and contractual economics work together.

4. Investment Idea One: A Cold-Energy Toll Road

If commercialized, SK Gas and KET could turn otherwise wasted cold energy into a cooling service.

Variable	Driver
Price	Avoided chiller electricity cost, water cost and carbon cost can partly become a cold-energy tariff.
Quantity	Ulsan AI data-center MW scale, rack density, LNG vaporization volume and cold-energy utilization rate.
Cost	Heat exchangers, coolant or brine loops, pipes, pumps, control systems, backup chillers and maintenance.

The upside is a potential infrastructure-style toll road without directly buying GPUs. The missing proof is a long-term cold-energy supply contract, minimum volume, tariff, capex payback, target PUE and SK Gas margin attribution.

5. Investment Idea Two: Firm Power Call Option

The cold-energy idea sits on top of a more basic thesis. AI data centers need firm power. They do not only need cheap power. They need power that does not stop.

Ulsan GPS gives SK Gas a firm-power option. The key variables are power-market price, capacity payments, LNG/LPG fuel spreads, plant utilization and SK Gas’s retained 51% exposure after the stake sale.

The KRW 1.2242 trillion price for 49% of Ulsan GPS implies a simple 100% value of roughly KRW 2.5 trillion and a retained 51% value near KRW 1.27 trillion. This is only a simple cross-check, not a full valuation, but it supports the idea that the market may still be applying a large discount to SK Gas’s energy infrastructure assets.

6. What Is Still Missing

Item	Status
Target PUE for the Ulsan AI data center	Not disclosed
LNG cold-energy share of total cooling load	Not disclosed
Cold-energy supply tariff	Not disclosed
Long-term contract structure	Not disclosed
Cold-recovery capex and payback	Not disclosed
AWS/SK economic allocation	Not disclosed
SK Gas EBITDA or net-income contribution	Not disclosed
Proprietary technology or patent scope	Not disclosed

This table is the core of the analysis. The technical logic is credible, but the numbers required for an EPS model are not public yet.

Final View

SK Gas’s LNG cold-energy option is not empty. It has technical logic, a relevant Ulsan location and a broader SK-AWS AI data-center context. But it is not yet a confirmed earnings driver.

The right investment stance is Watchlist / conditional buy. SK Gas should be read as an undervalued energy infrastructure company with an AI data-center cooling option. The cold-energy thesis becomes investable only when the market sees a supply contract, PUE improvement, capex payback and SK Gas margin capture.

KET LNG Terminal on Korea Invest Insights