"We Saved Enough Water for 550,000 People to Use in One Day": SK hynix to Save 600 Million Tons of Water by 2030

[Financial News] SK hynix reduced water use at its domestic sites by an average of 170,000 tons per day last year. That is enough water for approximately 550,000 people to use as household water for one day.
SK hynix, which has set a goal of saving a cumulative 600 million tons of water resources by 2030, plans to further advance its water-resource management system. The company aims to use less water, which is essential for semiconductor production, while recycling as much of the water it uses as possible.
According to industry sources on the 10th, SK hynix participated in Korea International Water Week 2026 (KIWW), held at EXCO (Daegu Exhibition & Convention Center) from the 9th to the 11th. The company presented its water-resource management achievements and its goal of saving a cumulative 600 million tons of water resources by 2030.
SK hynix has operated a wastewater-reduction task force since 2018 to reduce water use in its production processes and expand reuse. Through last year, the company had saved a cumulative 303.37 million tons of water resources. This exceeded its target of 264 million tons, and the company plans to raise the figure to 329 million tons this year.
The company is also expanding efforts to reuse water after it has been used once. SK hynix's volume of reused water increased by approximately 54%, from 47.88 million tons in 2022 to 73.59 million tons last year.
The company explained that each site is also expanding the range of water that can be reused according to the characteristics of its processes.
The Icheon Campus produces 94,400 tons of reused water per day through a wastewater-reuse facility and supplies it to facilities that prevent air pollution, among other uses. In 2023, the Cheongju Campus became the first site in Korea's semiconductor industry to introduce externally treated wastewater for reuse, using water that had already been used and treated as industrial water.
At KIWW, SK hynix designed its exhibition booth around the 'Water Loop' concept, or 'circulating water,' and also showcased activities to monitor the ecological environment with the local community.
The ECOSEE Citizen Science Program, operated in the Anseongcheon area, enables citizens to directly participate in surveys of plants, birds, and aquatic organisms and in data collection. The program is designed to observe ecological changes before and after development of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster.
An SK hynix official said, "We will continue to advance our water-resource management system so that we can use less of the water essential for semiconductor production and reuse as much of the water we use as possible. We will also continue expanding investment in process improvements and related technologies and facilities."
[email protected] Hak-jae Kim Reporter