SK ecoplant to enter the ultra-pure water business with engineering company HTS

Park Kyung-il, left, SK ecoplant CEO, and HTS CEO Jeong Yeong-il pose for a photo during a signing ceremony held Tuesday at SK ecoplant headquarters in Jongno District, central Seoul. [SK ECOPLANT]

SK ecoplant on Wednesday said that it will enter the ultra-pure water business with HTS, a local engineering company.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday at SK ecoplant headquarters in Jongno District, central Seoul.

Ultra-pure water is highly purified water used in manufacturing semiconductors, solar panels, batteries and others. The global ultra-pure water market volume is forecast to reach 23 trillion won ($16 billion) by 2024, up 14 percent compared to 2020, according to Global Water Intelligence.

Founded in 1988, HTS supplies, constructs and manages ultra-pure water systems for chipmakers such as SK hynix.

The two companies will jointly operate water treatment businesses, beginning with ultra-pure water system operation and maintenance, and will later extend the cooperation into water treatment plants and industrial wastewater treatment.

They plan to establish a joint venture in the future.

SK ecoplant, renamed from SK Engineering and Construction in May last year, runs a water treatment business.

“SK ecoplant is establishing an industrial water business value chain, taking a step beyond the wastewater treatment into the ultra-pure water system,” said Park Kyung-il, SK ecoplant CEO.

“We will complete a circular economy in water treatment by extending our business portfolio to advanced technologies, such as industrial water recycling and zero liquid discharge.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]