LG Philippines, Inc. said it is positioning itself to capture a share of the growing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) market for local data centers, as demand for data storage accelerates alongside the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI).

Cooling is a core infrastructure requirement for data centers, where dense rows of servers and computing hardware generate heat that must be continuously managed to keep equipment running reliably.

While the country's HVAC market remains concentrated in residential and construction applications, the company expects demand from data centers to climb over the next few years, according to Ryan Cañete, LG's commercial air conditioning (CAC) sales team leader.

"The trend right now is mostly residential or ongoing construction," Mr. Cañete told reporters during the launch of LG's HVAC Academy and Business Innovation Center (BIC). "But in the near future, next year or the year after, it will be more commercial, including data centers," he added.

Vanlee Budod, LG's chiller sales part leader, said the local expansion of data centers is being driven mainly by the AI boom and the growing data storage requirements of enterprises.

"When AI is developing, data centers are also growing because of cloud storage and everything," Ms. Budod told reporters. Chillers — large-scale systems that circulate chilled water for commercial and industrial air conditioning — are among the product lines LG offers through its commercial HVAC business.

Market research firm Mordor Intelligence projects the Philippine data center market to double in value to $2.37 billion by 2031 from $850 million in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate of 22.88%.

Ms. Budod said LG also aims to supply HVAC systems for data centers that could be built in Luzon under PAX SILICA, a US-led technology initiative. In August, the Philippine government said no large AI or hyperscale data centers would be constructed within the project site.

"That is their comment. But for us, we're just preparing also," Ms. Budod said, referring to the government's remarks on data center construction under PAX SILICA.

LG Opens HVAC BIC

Separately, LG Electronics Philippines has opened its new HVAC Academy and Business Innovation Center (BIC) at Silver City in Pasig, a dedicated space where customers, partners, contractors, and developers can learn about and explore the company's business solutions.

"The opening of the HVAC BIC is about bringing technology and expertise closer to the people who use them every day," Nakhyun Seong, managing director of LG Electronics Philippines, Inc., said in a statement.

The facility is expected to hold at least four sessions per week on an invitation-based or by-request scheme, Ms. Budod said.

LG is also considering partnering with government agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) by next year to provide Filipinos with HVAC training.

Near-term markers to watch include whether commercial and data center orders arrive on the timeline Mr. Cañete outlined, whether the prospective TESDA partnership is formalized, and how data center plans tied to the PAX SILICA initiative develop.

— Edg Adrian A. Eva