RIYADH: Desalination technology in Saudi Arabia will take a considerable stride as the Kingdom’s Saline Water Conversion Corp. partnered with two South Korean companies on renewable energy.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, SWCC signed two memorandums of understanding with Seoul-based DL E&C and Busang-headquartered Taekyung Group to engage in carbon reduction projects to desalinate water.
These agreements aim to bolster strategic cooperation by engaging in scientific, advisory and cognitive endeavors, such as tapping into potential growth avenues and accelerating the adoption of renewable energy solutions.
The SWCC-DL E&C deal will work toward applying small modular reactors in desalination. SMRs are a type of miniature nuclear reactor that can provide sustainable source of heat to remove salt from seawater.
Additionally, they have decided to collaborate on research into a clean hydrogen and ammonia production model using SMR to create added value.
This collaboration will also seek to advance sustainable desalination techniques, mitigating climate change impacts.
The Saline-Taekyung agreement, on the other hand, will work on a joint project using brine water and carbon capture, utilization and storage technology.
The project between Taekyung Group and Saudi Arabia is developing technology to extract high-purity calcium carbonate from cement waste using brine water from desalination.
This approach is economically feasible in advancing carbon neutrality and developing new renewable materials that reduce carbon dioxide.
Both sides also reportedly explored the possibility of applying the group’s eco-friendly technology to the Saudi futuristic city of NEOM.
This development was announced at the Saudi-Korean Investment Forum in Riyadh, organized by the Ministry of Investment.
The agreement signatories 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 signed an MoU with the Japanese Shinshu University to develop reverse osmosis technologies to expel salts from seawater.
Under the agreement, they will also develop innovative zero-liquid discharge, micro membranes and seawater mining technologies.
Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and Japan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Fumio Iwai attended the signing of the MoU.
