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- On May 26, OCI Energy signed a three-party agreement with CPS Energy and LG Energy Solution’s subsidiary Vertech

- The partnership will begin with the Alamo City project, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026 

- OCI Holdings to strengthen mid- to long-term cooperation for a pipeline of 13 ESS projects totaling 3.0GW.

- Plans to build a 2GW solar cell plant in San Antonio, Texas by next year to hedge against tariff risks

OCI Holdings announced on the 27th that its U.S. subsidiary, OCI Energy, signed a three-party memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Texas-based energy company CPS Energy and Vertech, a subsidiary of LG Energy Solution, for the North American energy storage system (ESS) business. The signing ceremony was held on the morning of the 26th at OCI’s headquarters in Seoul.

Key attendees included Kim ChoungHo, President of U.S.-based solar holding company OCI Enterprises; Sabah Bayatli, President of OCI Energy; Rudy D. Garza, President and CEO of CPS Energy; Kim Dong-Myung, President and CEO of LG Energy Solution; Kim Hyung-sik, Head of ESS Battery Division; and Park Jae-hong, Head of Vertech.

Under the agreement, OCI Energy will secure ESS batteries through a supply contract with Vertech, store solar energy generated during the day, and sell the stored electricity to CPS Energy.

CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the U.S., serves approximately 1.28 million customers in Texas. The three parties will kick off their collaboration with the “Alamo City ESS LLC” project, which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2026 and expand cooperation on OCI Energy’s pipeline of 13 ESS projects totaling around 3GW.

The “Alamo City ESS LLC” project is a solar power plant under development on a 35-acre site in southeastern Bexar County, Texas. It will integrate a 120MW solar photovoltaic system with a 480MWh energy storage system (ESS).

In December of last year, OCI Energy announced the development of the Alamo City ESS LLC project and signed a 20-year Storage Capacity Agreement(SCA) with CPS Energy to supply power to the San Antonio area.

In addition, OCI Holdings recently announced a $265 million (approx. KRW 380 billion) strategic investment to build a solar cell manufacturing plant in North America. The new facility, located in San Antonio, Texas, will span 200,000 square feet and is expected to secure a production capacity of 2GW — 1GW in the first half of next year and another 1GW in the second half — in response to global tariff risks and surging electricity demand.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), electricity demand from AI data centers in the U.S. is expected to surge from 4GW in 2024 to 84GW by 2030 — a 2,100% increase. Texas, home to OCI Energy, is a key location for AI data centers, including those operated by OpenAI, Oracle, and Crusoe.

A spokesperson for OCI Holdings stated, “In light of external uncertainties, including reciprocal tariffs, we have selected LG Energy Solution — which has multiple production bases in North America, including Holland, Michigan — as our ESS battery strategic partner. Going forward, we will further strengthen our collaboration with LG Energy Solution and CPS Energy to ensure sustainable electricity supply through our North American ESS projects and address the intermittency of solar energy.”