SK hynix used Korea International Water Week (KIWW) 2026, held at EXCO in Daegu from 9 to 11 September, to disclose that it cut water consumption at its domestic sites by an average of 170,000 tons per day last year, a volume the company equates to one day's household use by more than 550,000 people 매일경제. The figure positions the Korean chipmaker as the second leg of a national water-saving effort at the show, alongside Samsung Electronics' separate 330,000-ton-a-day reuse plan Seoul Economic Daily.
Key takeaways
- SK hynix saved an average of 170,000 tons of water per day at its Korean sites in 2025 매일경제.
- Cumulative water savings reached 303.37 million tons through last year, beating a 264-million-ton target 조선일보.
- Reuse volume rose roughly 54%, from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons in 2025 조선일보.
- The Icheon campus produces 94,400 tons of reused water per day and feeds it to air-pollution prevention facilities 매일경제.
- SK hynix is targeting 600 million tons of cumulative water savings by 2030 매일경제.
What happened at KIWW 2026
SK hynix presented the results of a Water and Wastewater Reduction Task Force it has run since 2018 to cut water use in semiconductor production processes and expand reuse 매일경제. At the Daegu exhibition, the company framed its booth around the concept of a "Water Loop" and showed how it manages water from intake through use, reuse and discharge 조선일보. KIWW 2026 drew roughly 50 countries and 80 companies and institutions, according to the organiser details reported by 매일경제.
The headline number, 170,000 tons of water saved per day across the Korean fab network, was put in context as the equivalent of household supply for more than 550,000 people for one day Seoul Economic Daily. Cumulative savings of 303.37 million tons through last year already exceed the original 264-million-ton goal, and the company is aiming to lift the cumulative figure to 329 million tons this year and 600 million tons by 2030 매일경제.
Reuse, not just reduction, is the lever the company is leaning on. Reuse volume grew roughly 54% in three years, from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons in 2025 조선일보. At the Icheon campus, a wastewater-reuse facility turns out 94,400 tons of reclaimed water a day, which is fed to air-pollution prevention equipment and other process users 매일경제. At the Cheongju campus, SK hynix became the first site in South Korea's semiconductor industry to take reused water from external sewage treatment facilities in 2023, routing already-treated effluent back into the plant as industrial water 조선일보.
For wastewater treatment, the company said it applies advanced processes including ozone oxidation, activated carbon and multistage coagulation and sedimentation 매일경제. The disclosure was paired with a direct statement of intent: "We will continue to advance our water-resource management system so that we use less of the water essential for semiconductor production and reuse as much of the water we use as possible. We will also continue to expand investments in process improvements and related technologies and equipment," an SK hynix representative said, as quoted by 매일경제.
Specification read
Putting the headline figure into buyer units: 170,000 tons per day equals 170,000 m³/day, or 170 MLD, which the company equates to household demand from more than 550,000 people 매일경제. The Icheon reuse block alone is 94,400 m³/day, so the Icheon site is operating a single-site reuse loop on the order of 94 MLD, with reused water feeding air-pollution control equipment rather than the process baths themselves 조선일보.
For a fab wastewater train at this scale, the typical layout starts with screening and equalisation, followed by primary clarification, then a biological step such as A2O, MBR, MBBR or SBR, with tertiary polishing (filtration, advanced oxidation, disinfection) before either discharge or reuse Mbr Membrane Systems. The reported process list, ozone oxidation, activated carbon and multistage coagulation and sedimentation, sits in the tertiary and polishing block that determines whether fab effluent can be sent to air-pollution control scrubbers, cooling towers or process make-up without scaling or corrosion problems, which is the stage this announcement bears on 매일경제.
For a plant manager or procurement lead, the read-across is: if your site is handling on the order of 50 to 200 m³/day of fab wastewater per process line, with BOD/COD in the typical semiconductor range of a few hundred to a few thousand mg/L and tightening reuse or discharge limits, a tertiary train of ozone, activated carbon and multistage coagulation-sedimentation, plus an Mbr Membrane Systems stage upstream, is the kind of configuration that lets you push reuse ratios toward the 50%-plus range rather than paying for fresh deionised make-up water. For broader context on how this stacks up against the side-stream and biological steps buyers compare it to, see the engineering comparison in our MBR vs Conventional Activated Sludge for Semiconductor Wastewater in Tullahoma (2026 Engineering Guide), and for a buyer's view of how a full effluent train is scoped and priced, the Effluent Treatment Plant in Leeds: 2026 Buyer's Engineering Guide walks through the decision points. Sites weighing whether to retrofit polishing for reuse or build a new tertiary line can also review the wider equipment categories on our Air Dust Treatment and Industries We Serve pages.
FAQ
What scale of fab wastewater reuse did SK hynix actually disclose at KIWW 2026? The company disclosed 170,000 tons per day of average water savings across its Korean sites in 2025, with the Icheon campus alone running a 94,400 tons-per-day reuse facility feeding air-pollution control equipment 매일경제. In buyer terms that is 170 MLD of avoided withdrawal and a single-site reuse loop of about 94 MLD.
What is SK hynix's reuse growth trajectory and 2030 target? Reuse rose about 54% from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons in 2025, and the company is targeting 600 million tons of cumulative water savings by 2030 조선일보. For a 50 to 200 m³/day fab line, that points to planning reuse around the 50%-plus range rather than incremental conservation.
Which treatment stages is SK hynix investing in to hit those numbers? The reported package is ozone oxidation, activated carbon and multistage coagulation and sedimentation, which sit in the tertiary and polishing block of a fab train 매일경제. For a buyer scoping a similar upgrade, the typical capex envelope for a tertiary retrofit at this scale is in the low to mid single-digit USD per m³/day of treated flow, with lead times commonly in the 9 to 18 month range (general industry range, not from the sources).
How does SK hynix's water programme compare with Samsung's at the same show? Samsung disclosed a separate project to reuse a combined 330,000 tons a day of treated wastewater at Hwaseong, Osan and Suwon, with reuse operations planned to start in earnest from 2030, while SK hynix's 170,000 tons a day figure is a current average saving at its Korean fabs Seoul Economic Daily. For procurement planning, that means Samsung's headline is forward-looking reuse capacity, whereas SK hynix's is already-realised savings.
