K-water Report
K-water industry attracts global attention
K-water takes on renewed roles in the growth of Korea’s new green industries and promotion of exports by Korean companies, making diverse efforts to promote new green industries—a key future growth engine—by taking advantage of its global network and infrastructure.
Text by Editorial Office
Sources K-water
K-water at the forefront of the water industry
Exporters are facing deteriorating market conditions amid the prolonged global economic slowdown. To compete better in the global market, Korean corporations are exerting various efforts. Last year, the Ministry of Environment declared its commitment to promoting new growth engines for the national economy and making Korea a major green industry exporter by fostering new green industries including carbon neutrality and water industry. In particular, the water industry includes floating solar panels, green hydrogen, smart technology for waterworks and seawater desalination, and promotion of UPW technology. As Korea’s leading water management corporation, K-water is spearheading support for the growth of private water corporations in line with the government policy direction with the aim of fostering small and medium-sized water startups to create new growth momentum for the economy and support their overseas expansion to lead the global water market.
Since 2018, K-water has been providing the 439 water-related innovative startups it has listed with various kinds of support including mentoring, technological demonstration, and investment attraction.
Under this program— the first of such effort by a public corporation—K-water identifies startups with innovative water technology and helps them through the entire process of starting a business including commercializing their innovative technology, creating business models, funding, and finding potential buyers at home and abroad. Under this support program, K-water has achieved tangible results including some 68 million won in sales and job creation.
K-water plans to establish a water industry-specialized regional innovation fund worth more than 460 billion won by 2025 in order to invigorate the local economy and support the regional development. Furthermore, K-water is working on building a public-private cooperation network to develop innovative technology and foster the domestic production of water-industry products in response to the changing water industry environment. For example, K-water supports technology verification by providing small and medium-sized venture startups with K-Testbed and water-related data and proactively makes it available through its digital water platform WaterRound*. It enables transactions at home and abroad through the various digital services and platforms it has developed, thereby allowing participating corporations to create their own momentum for growth and spurring the growth of the water industry.
* WaterRound is an open business platform where a wide range of participants including corporations, startups, and members of the academe gather together to develop and offer innovative solutions to water issues in a fast, easy way. For more information, please visit www.wateround.kr.
The water industry: a major driver of green exports
K-water has been building and expanding its global network based on its extensive overseas projects and ODA experiences. Examples include the ODA project with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, the signing of MOUs with ADB in Manila, and the K-Testbed overseas demonstration support project involving the improvement of water treatment facility performance in Kazakhstan. K-water takes advantage of its global network to help Korean corporations find overseas buyers and establish their presence in the global water market. Since 2018, K-water has been operating the “K-water Overseas Market Development Group” to help selected startups in the water industry and new renewable energy sector. In 2023, 49 billion won in sales were recorded as a result of IBS projects in the Philippines and Tanzania and joint marketing efforts in Thailand. In addition, K-water is actively involved in promoting and expanding green exports through diversified overseas marketing efforts including 19 expos and business meetings in 15 countries including the US and Saudi Arabia, trade missions, and technology roadshows. K-water participated in CES 2024 after joining the event for the first time in 2023. CES not only encourages young entrepreneurs to start a business based on innovative technologies but also offers an opportunity for startups to raise their global profile and find overseas buyers. K-water and 19 selected startups with innovative technology participated in CES 2024, which provided the participating Korean startups with an opportunity to meet overseas buyers. K-water’s efforts to foster the water industry has translated into lowering carbon barriers to trade and participating in overseas landmark projects as well as incubating startups. All of these efforts have contributed to enhancing the competitiveness of Korean corporations, and they are expected to add to the driving force for the growth of the national economy; thus brightening the outlook for the water industry.
This is conducting consultations with foreign buyers who have visited the K-water booth at CES 2024 exhibition.
K-water joins hands with Samsung Electronics and Naver.
Yongdam Multipurpose Dam Hydropower Generation
Agreement signed between Samsung Electronics for the removal of green trade barriers and the realization of carbon neutrality.
K-water is stepping up efforts to support Korean exporters as well as directly fostering and supporting green export companies. Amid the increasing green barriers to trade imposed by advanced countries and global RE 100 corporations, including the rising green protectionism and introduction of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that originated in Europe, Korean corporations’ demand for renewable energy as a means of coping with these new trade barriers continues to increase. With the largest renewable energy facility in Korea, K-water actively capitalizes on its infrastructure to help Korean corporations remove these trade barriers. Specifically, K-water and Samsung Electronics signed an agreement for “the removal of green barriers to trade and carbon neutrality” under which the renewable energy generated at Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station will be provided to Samsung Electronics via a power purchase agreement (PPA). Likewise, K-water and Naver signed a PPA to provide the 13GWh renewable energy produced at Yongdam Multi-purpose Dam directly to Naver, Inc. The renewable energy will be used for the operation of Naver’s head office building, which is forecast to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by some 6,000 tons per year. By securing renewable energy using K-water’s infrastructure, Korean exporters will be able to cope better with green barriers to trade and transform themselves into carbon-neutral, environment-friendly corporations.\