HD Hyundai Electric breaks ground on second U.S. transformer factory to meet surging demand

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HD Hyundai Electric breaks ground on second U.S. transformer factory to meet surging demand

Published: 08 Mar. 2026, 18:32

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

HD Hyundai Electric's power transformer factory in Montgomery, Alabama [HD HYUNDAI ELECTRIC]

HD Hyundai Electric broke ground on its second power transformer factory in Montgomery, Alabama, committing $200 million to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity amid surging demand for electricity from AI and data centers.

The new facility, spanning 48,215 square meters (about 519,000 square feet), will be built on the company’s existing campus in Alabama — already the largest power-transformer production site in the United States — with construction scheduled to be completed in April next year.

The United States has recently been experiencing explosive growth in electricity demand, fueled by the rapid expansion of AI computing and large-scale data centers. At the same time, utilities are also racing to replace aging transmission infrastructure, leaving the industry facing a structural shortage of critical grid equipment such as high-capacity transformers.

Executives of HD Hyundai Electric and government officials from the Alabama state government pose for a photo at a groundbreaking ceremony for the company's power transformer factory in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 8. [HD HYUNDAI ELECTRIC]

HD Hyundai Electric's U.S. sales, which stayed at roughly $100 million in 2017, surged to $400 million in 2025, while its local work force has jumped from around 100 employees in 2011 to 460 in 2025. Once the second Alabama plant is completed, it will create about 140 additional jobs.

The facility will enable HD Hyundai to increase its production capacity for ultra-high-voltage transformers by roughly 50 percent in the U.S. market.

“Through the construction of this second plant, HD Hyundai aims to support the expansion and strengthening of the U.S. power grid while broadening the country’s industrial base in preparation for a future defined by AI,” HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Cho Seok said. “We will continue to advance Korea-U. S. cooperation across a wide range of industries, including shipbuilding and construction equipment.”

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]