Chairman Christopher Koo of LS Group convened over an R&D conference in which 400 people, including LS Cable & System Chairman Koo Cha-yub, other CEOs of the group’s subsidiaries, and CTOs also were present at the LS Tower in Anyang, south of Seoul from Sept. 26 to 27.
LS Group Chairman Koo said the LS T-Fair 2016, an R&D report session and exhibition, “Tesla is not only an automaker, but also an electronic device, energy and software company. Such digital enterprises that can reinvent the conventional industries and laws of the game have emerged as powerful rivals, and LS should aggressively turn to open-innovation methods, including technology alliances, outsourcing and strategic partnerships according to each stage of research to brace for technology and market changes.”
In particular, Chairman Koo called for the research staff to enhance their R&D activities to catch up with changes of the times. He urged the participants to maintain its enhanced R&D attitude and carry out diverse activities and provide support to improve efficiency.
The R&D conference inaugurated an R&D strategy session in which each subsidiary’s CTO announced its R&D strategies and the group took stock of the group’s current technology levels and future direction.
LS Strives to Nurture HSVC, Smart Grid, Energy Efficiency Sector
Chairman Christopher Koo of LS Group visited the Wuxi Industrial Complex in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, along with outside directors of the group’s affiliates in May 2015.
LS Cable, LSIS and LS Emtron have plants in Wuxi.
In 2005, the group dedicated the complex on a 100,000-pyeong site as a foothold to explore overseas markets. Chairman Koo has been striving to find new business opportunities in such manufacturing innovation sectors as smart factories there, while exploring how to cope with changes of Chinese economic policies.
Koo also toured LS Cable’s super conductor center and LSIS HVDC Smart Center on Jeju Island to get caught up on the progress of the development of new technologies and encourage those engaged in next-generation technology development projects.
The group has been engaged in the development of technologies for energy efficiency, with the supply of power becoming a key issue associated with the rapid industrialization and urbanization in Korea and China, creating high demand for energy, as well as energy efficiency. The group has also been engaged in the localization of the key technologies, including super- conductors, smart grids and high voltage direct currents, among others, in new industrial areas where global players have been dominating.
LS Cable & System (LS C&S) kicked off its super conductor development project in 2001 and succeeded in developing a super conductor cable for the 4th time in the world, which was followed by the development of the direct 80 kw class super conductor cable for the first time in the world. It was also the first time ever that the same company secured both DC and AC technologies. LS C&S plans to tap the eco-friendly automotive parts sector, as the company signed a deal to supply wiring harnesses for EVs to BAIC of China in early February.
LSIS is firing on all cylinders to localize high voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies. The company was selected as the preferred bidder of a project of KEPCO Alstom Power Electronics Systems (KAPES) to transfer HVDC technologies. KAPES is a joint venture between Alstom Grid and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to deliver HVDC projects in Korea. LSIS has reaped tangible achievements as the company won a 67.1 billion won power transmission project connecting Bukdangjin and Godeok last year.
LSIS is spearheading the Korean smart grid project business, which is designed to optimize energy efficiency by exchanging real-time information interactively through the combining of the conventional unilateral power network and IT technology. To this end, the company has secured such total solutions as photovoltaic power and electric energy storage (ESS).
_LS HVDC.jpg)
HVDC produced by LS Cable & System.
(Photos: LS Group)
