Hanwha Aerospace has successfully completed a mock combat flight in South Korea of the Mojave STOL, a short-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) it is jointly developing with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI).

Hanwha Aerospace said the Mojave took off from the Republic of Korea Army's 513th Aviation Battalion airfield during the 2026 Defense Drone Technology Exhibition in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 16 and landed on a tank maneuver road. The aircraft then took off again from the site and returned to the airfield.

The Mojave is equipped with a 450-horsepower turboprop engine and high-lift devices, allowing it to take off and land within distances of 100 to 300 meters. During the demonstration, it took off in less than 200 meters and landed within a distance in the 100-meter range.

The Mojave can carry up to 1 metric ton of mission equipment. Depending on its equipment configuration, it can be used for ground attack, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, logistics transport and communications relay missions.

Hanwha Aerospace plans to establish R&D and production infrastructure for the Mojave in South Korea. The company aims to raise the share of domestic production to more than 70% once the aircraft enters mass production.

Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Innovation, LS Cable & System and LS Marine Solution unveiled power and energy technologies aimed at addressing the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and the energy transition.

The companies are participating in the 2026 World Climate Industry Expo (WCE), held at BEXCO in Busan from Sept. 16 to Sept. 18.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics showcased heat pumps and high-efficiency appliances, while SK Innovation presented integrated power solutions for AI data centers. LS Cable & System and LS Marine Solution displayed power grid technologies for transmitting large amounts of electricity.

Samsung Electronics unveiled its "EHS All-in-One" heat pump, which provides cooling, heating and hot water with a single outdoor unit. The company also displayed AI data center cooling solutions developed in collaboration with FläktGroup, which it acquired last year, as well as central heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products for large buildings. It also introduced SmartThings-based energy management technology and appliances with the highest energy-efficiency rating.

LG Electronics showcased high-efficiency residential solutions centered on its air-source "LG Therma V Heat Pump Boiler." The product generates about four to five times as much thermal energy as the electricity it consumes. LG Electronics also displayed air conditioners and washer-dryers incorporating heat pump technology, as well as an e-paper display that consumes more than 99% less power than conventional digital signage.

SK Innovation unveiled an integrated energy solution for large-scale electricity consumers including AI data centers. The solution combines renewable energy, battery energy storage systems (BESS), small modular reactors (SMRs) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) combined heat and power generation based on customers' electricity demand. SK Innovation had secured a global renewable energy pipeline of about 5.3 gigawatts (GW) as of the end of May this year.

LS Cable & System and LS Marine Solution introduced a "one-stop integrated power grid" connecting renewable energy generation sites with electricity consumers. They displayed submarine cables that transmit electricity generated by offshore wind farms to land and superconducting cables for high-capacity power transmission. LS Cable & System has commercialized 500-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable technology, while LS Marine Solution has experience installing HVDC submarine cables.

LS Cable & System also unveiled recyclable polypropylene (PP) cables and "CuFlake," a new copper material for copper foil made from copper scrap. The company also introduced resource-circulation technology that recycles cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation from discarded cables.

Electronics and energy companies are expanding related businesses in response to rising power demand driven by the growth of the AI industry and the energy transition. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are focusing on reducing energy consumption in homes and buildings, while SK Innovation is targeting power generation and storage, and LS Cable & System and LS Marine Solution are focusing on transmission infrastructure.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will cooperate with European satellite specialist Aerospacelab on the development of communications satellites for South Korea's low-Earth orbit satellite communications network, known as K-LEO.

KAI said Sept. 15 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aerospacelab for strategic cooperation in the space business at World Space Business Week 2026 in Paris on Sept. 14.

The companies will cooperate on the K-LEO project, the joint development of next-generation commercial communications satellites and aviation-satellite convergence solutions. They will also jointly explore new business opportunities and consider establishing a joint venture in the future.

KAI will provide satellite design and manufacturing capabilities as well as systems integration technologies. Aerospacelab has technologies for LEO satellite communications systems, constellation operations and mass satellite production.

KAI aims to participate in the K-LEO project, which the South Korean government plans to establish by 2035.

"We will combine the strengths of the two companies to generate tangible business results in domestic and overseas satellite markets," said Kim Ji-hong, executive vice president and head of KAI's Future Convergence Technology Institute.

LG Electronics will test a residential electrification model at an apartment building on Jeju Island, using heat pumps to provide heating, cooling and hot water with electricity.

LG Electronics said on Sept. 15 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Jeju Province Development Corp. and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology for a residential heating and cooling electrification and Power-to-Heat (P2H) demonstration project at the Jeju International Convention Center.

The project will be conducted at Sinhyo Apartment in Seogwipo, Jeju. The seven-story building, with one basement level, has 12 occupied households. LG Electronics plans to complete the design by October, finish construction in December and then begin operating the demonstration system.

Each household will be equipped with a heat pump that uses a single outdoor unit to provide cooling and underfloor heating. Hot water will be supplied through a centralized system consisting of an air-source heat pump and a large hot-water storage tank installed in the building's ground-floor piloti area. The heat pumps will replace existing boilers and gas piping.

LG Electronics plans to use data from the demonstration to develop heat-pump systems for multifamily housing, including public rental housing, existing apartment renovations and new residential complexes.

"We will validate a heat-pump model optimized for heating, cooling and hot water in multifamily housing at an apartment building where residents actually live," said Oh Se-ki, vice president and head of LG Electronics' ES R&D center.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has developed a 100-megawatt (MW) floating power generation facility capable of supplying electricity to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and other facilities.

HD KSOE said on Sept. 15 that it received Approval in Principle (AIP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the 100MW floating power generation facility. The company has secured key technologies including the basic conceptual design, electrical single-line diagram and stability assessment.

The floating power generation facility uses power-generation engines to produce electricity offshore and supply it to facilities on land. It can be used for data centers and industrial complexes that require large amounts of electricity or in areas where building land-based power plants is difficult.

HD KSOE designed the facility to supply up to 100MW of electricity using its independently developed medium-sized HiMSEN engines. The company plans to enter the market after completing detailed design work and obtaining additional certifications.

"We will advance our floating power generation technology to address the global power infrastructure market," an HD KSOE official said.

SEC, a company specializing in core electron-beam technologies, has won an additional order for defense inspection equipment from Hanwha Aerospace. The contract is its third following deals in May and June, raising its defense linear accelerator (LINAC) order backlog to 34.4 billion won.

SEC said in a regulatory filing on Sept. 15 that it signed a 7.4 billion won contract with Hanwha Aerospace to supply defense inspection equipment. The contract is equivalent to about 12.5% of SEC’s total revenue of 59.2 billion won last year.

SEC has been expanding its supply of defense inspection equipment to Hanwha Aerospace this year. It signed a 9.3 billion won contract in May, followed by an additional 4.2 billion won equipment order in June. Including the latest deal, confirmed contracts with Hanwha Aerospace this year total 20.9 billion won.

The successive orders have also expanded the revenue base of SEC’s defense business. Its defense LINAC order backlog stood at about 27 billion won as of its first-half report this year. Including the latest 7.4 billion won contract, the backlog rises to 34.4 billion won. That is more than 2.5 times last year’s defense revenue of 13.5 billion won and equivalent to about 58% of the company’s total revenue last year.

SEC has independently developed and commercialized LINAC-based nondestructive inspection systems in Korea. Using higher-energy X-rays than conventional industrial X-ray systems, the equipment can inspect internal defects in large, high-density structures such as rocket propulsion systems, warheads and artillery shells without damaging the products. SEC has commercialized the equipment since 2017 and built a track record of supplying the defense industry.

“We have demonstrated our LINAC technology and capabilities in supplying defense inspection equipment by securing successive orders from Hanwha Aerospace,” an SEC official said. “We will strengthen cooperation with existing customers and expand additional orders in domestic and overseas defense markets.”

Doosan Fuel Cell has won an additional 322.2 billion won order for phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) from US-based HyAxiom. The new order comes two weeks after a 501.4 billion won contract earlier this month.

Doosan Fuel Cell said on Sept. 15 that it signed a 322.2 billion won PAFC supply contract with HyAxiom, the US subsidiary of Doosan Corp. The two companies' contracts signed this month now total 823.6 billion won.

Doosan Fuel Cell will begin supplying the ordered products to North America through HyAxiom in stages from 2028. HyAxiom will handle engineering, commissioning and long-term service agreements (LTSAs).

Doosan Fuel Cell sees rising power demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers as driving increased fuel cell orders in the region. Fuel cells can serve as on-site power sources that generate electricity directly near data centers.

Doosan Fuel Cell also signed a 108.7 billion won contract in August to supply solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks to Germany's Reverion.

The company's overseas orders over the past month totaled about 930 billion won. Its cumulative orders this year, including domestic contracts, reached about 1.11 trillion won.

Korea Zinc will showcase a critical minerals value chain linking its renewable energy, resource recycling and smelting businesses in Korea, the US and Australia.

Korea Zinc said on Sept. 15 that it will participate in the 2026 World Climate Industry EXPO (WCE), to be held at BEXCO in Busan from Sept. 16 to 18. It will mark the company’s fourth consecutive year at the event.

The company will present a business structure that connects its renewable energy and green hydrogen operations in Australia, resource recycling business in the US and smelting operations in Korea with critical mineral production. It will also display key critical minerals including antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, germanium and gallium.

“We will strengthen our business foundation for green metal production based on our competitiveness in critical mineral supply chains,” a Korea Zinc official said.

Hyosung Heavy Industries has won orders worth 386.5 billion won from two US Big Tech companies for extra-high-voltage transformers.

Hyosung Heavy Industries said in a regulatory filing on Sept. 15 that it signed contracts with two US Big Tech companies to supply extra-high-voltage transformers. The contracts are worth 220 billion won and 166.5 billion won, respectively.

Hyosung Heavy Industries will supply the transformers for new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers being built in the southern and northern US.

The 220 billion won contract covers 765-kilovolt (kV) transformers, while the 166.5 billion won contract is for 345kV extra-high-voltage transformers.

Hyosung Heavy Industries operates an extra-high-voltage transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee, and is currently expanding the facility. In July, it established a joint venture with North American power infrastructure company Quanta to produce extra-high-voltage circuit breakers.

Hyosung Heavy Industries’ new orders totaled about 9.3 trillion won from January through August this year, surpassing its full-year orders last year. The company raised its annual order target to 12 trillion won from 8.4 trillion won.

Taihan Cable & Solution is expanding its production and installation capabilities for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cables.

Taihan said on Sept. 15 that it will showcase power infrastructure technologies including submarine cables, HVDC systems and busducts at the 2026 World Climate Industry EXPO, to be held at BEXCO in Busan from Sept. 16 to 18.

Taihan currently operates its first submarine cable plant and is building a second plant scheduled to begin operations in 2027.

The second plant is being designed to produce 640-kilovolt (kV) HVDC and 400kV high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) submarine cables.

For submarine cable installation, Taihan will use the 11,000-ton cable-laying vessels (CLVs) Skandi Connector and Palos. Skandi Connector can handle inter-array and export cable installation for offshore wind farms, long-distance grid connections and HVDC submarine cable installation.

Taihan will also display 525kV HVDC submarine cables and dynamic submarine cables for floating offshore wind farms. In its busduct business, where it tripled factory capacity last year, the company will showcase epoxy-insulated and PET-insulated products.

“We will strengthen our technological competitiveness in submarine cables, HVDC and busducts to meet demand from Korea’s power supply chain and the global power infrastructure market,” a Taihan official said.

LS ELECTRIC will jointly develop grid-forming technology with Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) to maintain stable voltage and frequency in distribution grids as renewable energy deployment expands.

LS ELECTRIC said on Sept. 15 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KEPCO on Sept. 14 at LS Tower in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, for cooperation on distribution-level power electronics technology.

The companies will jointly research grid-forming technology for distribution grid support, smart transformers and grid-connected microgrid technology equipped with black-start capabilities. They also plan to pursue joint commercialization in global markets following demonstrations in Korea.

Grid-forming is a technology that allows inverter-based distributed energy resources, including solar, wind and energy storage systems (ESS), to establish grid voltage and frequency on their own, improving grid stability. Conventional grid-following systems operate by following voltage and frequency established by the power grid.