SK hynix slashes daily water use across its Korean chip plants
Summary
SK hynix said it reduced water consumption at its Korean plants by an average of 170,000 tons a day last year, and it is presenting the figures at Korea International Water Week 2026 in Daegu through Friday. The company also set a goal to cut cumulative water use by 600 million tons by 2030. It said its cumulative water savings reached 303.37 million tons last year, while water reuse rose to 73.59 million tons.
Key Facts
- SK hynix said its cumulative water savings reached 303.37 million tons last year, above its target of 264 million tons.
- The company aims to raise cumulative water savings to 329 million tons this year and 600 million tons by 2030.
- Water reuse increased from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons last year, an increase of about 54 percent.
- At its Icheon plant in Gyeonggi Province, SK hynix produces 94,400 tons of reused water daily through a wastewater recycling facility.
- Its Cheongju plant became the first in Korea's chip industry to adopt reused water from an outside sewage treatment plant in 2023.
A showcase booth of SK hynix during the Korea International Water Week 2026
SK hynix said Thursday that it reduced water consumption at its Korean plants by an average of 170,000 tons a day last year, an amount roughly equal to the daily household water use of 550,000 people.
The chipmaker is presenting the figures this week at Korea International Water Week 2026, running through Friday at EXCO in Daegu, where it also outlined a goal to cut cumulative water use by 600 million tons by 2030. The event brings together government agencies, companies and experts from about 50 countries to discuss water management, with roughly 80 companies and institutions taking part this year.
SK hynix has run a water and wastewater reduction task force since 2018. Its cumulative water savings reached 303.37 million tons last year, surpassing its target of 264 million tons, and the company aims to raise that figure to 329 million tons this year. Water reuse has also grown, rising to 73.59 million tons last year from 47.88 million tons in 2022, an increase of about 54 percent.
At its plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the company produces 94,400 tons of reused water daily through a wastewater recycling facility, supplying it to air pollution control equipment and other systems. Its plant in Cheongju became the first in Korea's chip industry to adopt reused water from an outside sewage treatment plant in 2023. The company said it manages water resources at every stage, from intake to discharge, using ozone oxidation, activated carbon and multistage coagulation and sedimentation systems to treat wastewater.
At the event, SK hynix built its exhibition booth around the concept "Water Loop," using video and graphics to present its water-saving and reuse efforts. It also highlighted its "ECOSEE" citizen science program along the Anseong Stream, where residents track changes in plant, bird and aquatic life before and after development of a semiconductor cluster in Yongin.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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