How LG and SK Enmove Plan to Develop More Efficient Cooling

LG Electronics and SK Enmove are extending an existing AI data center immersion-cooling partnership into a broader effort covering refrigerants and compressor lubricants. Their September 2026 memorandum of understanding targets home appliances, commercial and industrial equipment, and high-heat applications including AI data centers. It sets out a development program, not a finished product launch.51517

Developing refrigerants alongside HVAC systems

SK Enmove will draw on its refrigerant-development experience to identify and evaluate new candidates. LG will use its HVAC product and system expertise to assess whether those candidates can be used safely and effectively in equipment. That division of work lets the partners test a refrigerant in the context of the cooling system it is meant to serve.2224

The stated target is a PFAS-free refrigerant with global warming potential below 150. The companies intend to verify its performance while responding to tighter environmental requirements, particularly in Europe and North America. The target alone does not establish that a refrigerant has met every applicable safety standard or received approval in every market.52324

Matching compressor oils to the new fluids

Refrigerants are only part of the equipment challenge. The partners also plan to develop refrigeration oils suited to the new refrigerants and LG’s HVAC systems. These lubricants reduce friction and wear in components such as compressors; the companies aim to use a compatible pairing to improve system efficiency, stable operation and cost competitiveness. Those improvements remain goals to be tested, rather than measured outcomes of the agreement.2122

Extending immersion cooling beyond data centers

The new agreement builds on a 2025 memorandum of understanding between LG, SK Enmove and US-based Green Revolution Cooling to develop and demonstrate integrated liquid-immersion cooling solutions for AI data centers. Unlike a refrigerant circulating through an HVAC system, immersion cooling uses electrically non-conductive fluid around electronic equipment to remove heat. The partners are also considering applications for energy-storage systems and electric-vehicle components.315

Together, the work links LG’s equipment design and system testing with SK Enmove’s materials development. Its potential value is better-performing cooling across several types of equipment, but the available reports do not quantify electricity savings, lubricant-life gains or cost reductions. Those results—and compliance in specific markets—will depend on further testing.152224