At Korea International Water Week 2026 in Daegu, SK hynix said its domestic fabs cut water use by an average of 170,000 tons per day last year — a volume equal to one day's household consumption for about 550,000 people — and laid out a plan to save a cumulative 600 million tons of water by 2030 헤럴드경제. The company also said its Korean cumulative water savings had already passed 303.37 million tons through last year, beating an original 264-million-ton target 헤럴드경제.
Key takeaways
- SK hynix reduced water use at its Korean plants by an average of 170,000 tons per day in 2025, equivalent to daily household demand for about 550,000 people 헤럴드경제.
- Reuse volume rose about 54% over four years, from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons in 2025 THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media.
- Cumulative savings reached 303.37 million tons by the end of 2025, ahead of the 264-million-ton target; the company plans 329 million tons in 2026 헤럴드경제.
- The Icheon plant produces 94,400 tons of reused water per day; the Cheongju plant became South Korea's first semiconductor site to take externally treated reclaimed sewage for industrial use in 2023 THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media.
- SK hynix is targeting a cumulative 600 million tons of water saved by 2030 헤럴드경제.
What happened
On 8 September 2026, SK hynix said it would present its water-management record and its mid- to long-term targets at Korea International Water Week 2026, held at EXCO in Daegu 헤럴드경제. The same announcement was made at the EXCO exhibition from 9 to 11 September, where the company's "Water Loop" booth showcased water conservation, reuse and ecosystem-preservation work through videos and graphics THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media.
SK hynix has run a water and wastewater reduction task force since 2018, working on both intake-side savings and in-process reuse THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media. By the end of 2025 its Korean operations had cut cumulative water use by 303.37 million tons, beating the original 264-million-ton goal; the company is now targeting 329 million tons in 2026 and a cumulative 600 million tons saved by 2030 헤럴드경제.
Reuse volumes are the most visible shift. Water reuse grew roughly 54% over four years, from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons in 2025 헤럴드경제. The Icheon plant runs a wastewater reuse facility producing 94,400 tons of recycled water per day, which it feeds to air-pollution control equipment and other on-site users THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media. In 2023 the Cheongju plant became the first semiconductor site in South Korea to take externally treated reclaimed wastewater and reuse it for industrial processes THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media.
On the treatment side, SK hynix is strengthening the full cycle from intake to discharge, with advanced wastewater treatment trains that include ozone oxidation units, activated carbon and multi-stage coagulation-sedimentation systems, alongside continued investment in additional pollutant-reduction technology 헤럴드경제. The company also runs the ECOSEE citizen science program along Anseong Stream, where local residents survey plants, birds and aquatic life to track ecosystem changes before and after the Yongin semiconductor cluster is developed THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media.
An SK hynix official said, "We will continue to upgrade our water management system to reduce the water essential for semiconductor production and to maximize the reuse of water once it is used," adding, "We will also keep expanding investment in process improvements and related technology and equipment" 헤럴드경제.
| Metric | Reported figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily water reduction, Korean fabs | 170,000 t/day | 2025 |
| Cumulative water savings, Korean fabs | 303.37 million tons | through end-2025 |
| 2026 cumulative savings target | 329 million tons | 2026 |
| 2030 cumulative savings target | 600 million tons | by 2030 |
| Reuse volume | 47.88 → 73.59 million tons | 2022 → 2025 |
| Icheon reused water output | 94,400 t/day | current |
Specification read
Translating the headline figure into buyer units: 170,000 tons per day equals roughly 170,000 m³/day of freshwater displacement across SK hynix's Korean fabs in 2025, while the 94,400 t/day Icheon reuse line is about 94,400 m³/day of reclaimed water going back into process and air-pollution-control service THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media. The 550,000-person "household equivalent" framing sits in the same order of magnitude as a 0.4–0.5 m³/day per-capita household demand (general industry range, not from the sources), so the plant-level water budget here is best read as a six-figure-m³/day enterprise problem, not a single-fab one.
The reported treatment train — ozone oxidation, activated carbon polishing and multi-stage coagulation-sedimentation on the wastewater side, paired with a dedicated reuse facility feeding back into process and air-pollution control — maps onto a semiconductor-effluent flow of: screening and equalisation, primary clarification or DAF, a biological stage such as MBR or MBBR for organics removal, then tertiary polishing (ozone, activated carbon, ion exchange or RO) before the polished stream is reused for non-critical utility service or discharged. This story bears on the front end of that train (advanced treatment and reuse) more than on primary clarification.
If your plant looks like a Korean-scale semiconductor or large electronics facility handling tens of thousands of m³/day with a high BOD/COD effluent and tightening reuse or discharge limits, this is a clear signal that the bidding benchmark is now an integrated advanced-treatment-plus-reuse scheme rather than a standalone biological unit — and that ozone, activated carbon and reuse-side capacity are the stages procurement should be sizing for. Comparable engineering framing is laid out in our MBR vs Conventional Activated Sludge for Semiconductor Wastewater in Fairfield, US (2026 Guide) and in the MBR vs Conventional Activated Sludge for Semiconductor Wastewater in Tullahoma (2026 Engineering Guide), while our Mbr Membrane Systems page covers the biological stage that typically sits upstream of the ozone/carbon polish reported here. The Industries We Serve hub places this in the broader electronics and semiconductor segment, and our earlier write-up of the same announcement is in SK hynix cuts Korean chip-plant water use by 170,000 t/day, Sept 2026.
FAQ
What scale of flow does this announcement cover?
SK hynix reports an average 170,000 t/day reduction across its Korean fabs in 2025, with the Icheon reuse facility alone producing about 94,400 t/day of recycled water THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media. For a single-fab comparator, that is six-figure-m³/day territory (general industry range, not from the sources).
Which treatment stages does this project target?
The reported work sits in advanced wastewater treatment — ozone oxidation, activated carbon, multi-stage coagulation-sedimentation — and in on-site reuse, rather than in primary clarification 헤럴드경제. Procurement should be sizing biological (e.g. MBR or MBBR) plus tertiary/reuse stages together.
What is the reuse fraction and how fast is it growing?
Reuse volume rose about 54% over four years, from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons in 2025 헤럴드경제. The company is targeting a cumulative 600 million tons saved across Korean fabs by 2030 헤럴드경제.
What budget and lead time should a buyer plan for a comparable advanced-treatment-plus-reuse retrofit?
The sources do not report capex or lead time. For a high-end semiconductor effluent retrofit at six-figure-m³/day scale, equipment-only budgets commonly sit in the multi-million-USD range with typical engineering, procurement and construction lead times of 12–24 months (general industry range, not from the sources); the only project-specific number in the article is the 170,000 t/day displacement figure 헤럴드경제.
