The Korea Herald

소아쌤

LG Chem to join Israel’s massive desalination project

By No Kyung-min

Published : May 18, 2023 - 14:31

    • Link copied

The construction site of the Ashdod Rehabilitation Project in Israel (LG Chem) The construction site of the Ashdod Rehabilitation Project in Israel (LG Chem)

LG Water Solutions, the arm of LG Chem specializing in manufacturing seawater reverse osmosis membranes, has secured an exclusive supply agreement for the Ashdod Rehabilitation Project in Israel, aiming at strengthening the company's presence in the Mediterranean desalination market.

Under the agreement, LG Water Solutions will supply a total of 30,000 SWRO membranes to the Ashdod plant throughout the year. With a capacity of 336,000 m3/day, this can generate clean water for approximately 1.1 million people every year.

The Ashdod facility, jointly owned by Israel's engineering company Shapir and global water treatment firm GES, is among the five largest desalination plants in Israel. Securing this large-scale project is expected to propel LG Water Solutions' ongoing and rapid expansion in the Mediterranean region.

Since 2014, LG Water Solutions has been expanding its business and has desalinated 1.86 billion tons of water using its RO technology. Notably, Egypt and the Canary Islands heavily rely on LG's SWRO membranes to meet almost half of their water demand.

Juan Carlos de Armas, sales director of Global Large Projects at LG Water Solutions, expressed gratitude after the company was decided as the membrane supplier for the Ashdod plant.

"This project marks a major milestone for LG Water Solutions and further solidifies our position as a key player in the desalination industry," he noted, adding, "Our advanced manufacturing capabilities, the industry's leading 99.89% salt rejection RO technology, coupled with exceptional technical and commercial support, have been instrumental in driving our remarkable growth trajectory in this sector.”

The company highlights that their SWRO membranes, incorporated with innovative Thin Film Nanocomposite technology, deliver the industry’s highest level of salt rejection.

Once the Ashdod plant becomes fully operational in 2024, the SWRO elements in desalination facilities across Israel will have an estimated capacity of 825,000 m3/day. This accounts for more than one-third of the country's total desalination capacity.

According to an official from the company, the demand for high-performance SWRO membranes is growing in Mediterranean areas like North Africa and Israel, where a significant portion of drinking water is obtained from seawater desalination facilities.