Desalination technology in Saudi Arabia is set to advance significantly as the country’s Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC) has partnered with two South Korean companies to explore renewable energy applications. SWCC has signed two memorandums of understanding with DL E&C based in Seoul and Taekyung Group located in Busan, focusing on carbon reduction projects for water desalination.
These agreements aim to strengthen strategic cooperation by engaging in scientific, advisory, and cognitive efforts, including identifying growth opportunities and accelerating the adoption of renewable energy solutions.
The SWCC-DL E&C partnership will work on implementing small modular reactors (SMRs) in desalination, which are miniature nuclear reactors providing sustainable heat for saltwater desalination. They will also collaborate on research into clean hydrogen and ammonia production using SMRs, thereby adding value to the desalination process.
Additionally, this collaboration aims to advance sustainable desalination methods, contributing to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
On the other hand, the Saline-Taekyung agreement will focus on a joint project involving brine water and carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology. The project seeks to develop technology for extracting high-purity calcium carbonate from cement waste using brine water from desalination. This approach is economically viable and supports carbon neutrality by creating new renewable materials that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Both partnerships are exploring the possibility of applying their eco-friendly technologies to Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city of NEOM.
This announcement was made during the Saudi-Korean Investment Forum in Riyadh, organized by the Ministry of Investment. The signatories of the agreements included Tariq Al-Ghaffari, SWCC’s deputy governor for research and innovative project execution, Taekyung Group CEO Hae Ryun Kim, and DL E&C Vice President Sunghun Ryu.
In July, SWCC also signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Shinshu University to develop reverse osmosis technologies for saltwater desalination and explore innovative solutions such as zero-liquid discharge, micro membranes, and seawater mining technologies. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and Japan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Fumio Iwai.
Discover more from SolarQuarter
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
