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| Kyung Kye-hyun, sixth from left, CEO of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions Division, poses with government officials after agreeing to reuse treated sewage water for industrial use at its chip-manufacturing plants at the company's Hwaseong Campus in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. From left are K-water CEO Park Jae-hyeon, Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon, Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il, Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Yeom Tae-young, Minister of Environment Han Wha-jin, Samsung CEO Kyung, Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon, Hwaseong Mayor Chung Myung-geun, Osan Mayor Lee Kwon-jae, and Korea Environment Corporation CEO Ahn Byung-ok. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung Electronics has secured a stable supply of water for its semiconductor manufacturing plants in Korea. The chipmaker said Wednesday that it signed an agreement with the government to reuse treated sewage water for industrial use.
The company said it agreed with the Ministry of Environment, K-water, Korea Environment Corporation, Gyeonggi Province and five Gyeonggi provincial cities, including Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, Yongin, Suwon and Osan, to receive the water.
"The use of recycled sewage water in the semiconductor industry, which requires clean water that is called ultrapure water, is an enormous paradigm shift," Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO of Samsung's Device Solutions Division, said.
"To preserve the water resources of the country, we will develop innovative water-reusing technologies and work together with the national government and local governments," the CEO added.
Under the agreement, the treated sewage water from Suwon, Yongin, Hwaseong and Osan will be turned into industrial water that can be used in the chipmaking process and be supplied to Samsung's Giheung, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek plants.
The water supplied to each plant will go through additional processes and be used for chip production. Samsung said it expects the amount of water it will receive will be about 474,000 tons a day and 173 million tons per year.
Samsung said it decided to reutilize the treated sewage water as the company has been seeking ways to stably secure water while not damaging the environment.
"Due to the expansion of semiconductor production lines, the industrial water required for Samsung's semiconductor business is expected to more than double by 2030. In September, Samsung announced a goal of capping the amount of water used by its domestic chip business by 2030 and has been seeking various ways to stably secure industrial water," the company said.
Samsung announced steps in September to develop semiconductors and IT gadgets that consume less energy and convert 100 percent of its electricity supply to renewable sources by 2050. It also promised to maximize efforts to reuse the water in its chip production process.
By limiting the amount of industrial water it uses, Samsung also hopes to contribute to solving the water shortage problem Korea has faced.
Also, the company said it will make efforts to optimize water usage by replacing aging facilities, improving manufacturing processes and developing new technologies.
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