Yongin City to Boost Wastewater Treatment Efficiency with AI and Digital Twin Technologies

Yongin Eco Town Selected as Demonstration Site
for Research Project Led by Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province is incorporating advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin technologies into its wastewater treatment processes.

On October 28, Yongin City announced that the Yongin Eco Town wastewater treatment facility has been selected as a demonstration site for the "Demand-Responsive Water Management Facility Resource Utilization Technology Development and Demonstration Research Project" promoted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.

Accordingly, Yongin Eco Town will conduct a demonstration project to develop a water management platform using AI and digital twin technologies, improve wastewater treatment efficiency, stabilize the power grid, and standardize technologies.

This demonstration project, which will run until the end of 2028, involves joint participation from HSK (HS Korea), University of Seoul, Kyonggi University, and POSCO E&C. The participating organizations plan to complete the installation of on-site equipment by the first half of 2027 and then begin full-scale research, including data collection and operational simulations, starting in the third quarter of the same year.

Including Yongin Eco Town, a total of six wastewater and water treatment facilities nationwide have been designated as demonstration sites for this project, with a total research budget of 17.3 billion won allocated.

The city expects that if the research achieves its goal of reducing process energy consumption by 10 to 15 percent at wastewater treatment facilities, it will result in annual electricity cost savings of approximately 600 million won for Yongin Eco Town alone.

After the research is completed, the city plans to receive about 2 billion won worth of research equipment-including installed sensors, control devices, and integrated operation systems-through donation in kind, and utilize them as a foundation for energy self-sufficiency at public wastewater treatment facilities.

Lee Sangil, Mayor of Yongin, stated, "This research project is a meaningful attempt to apply advanced technologies such as AI and digital twins to public wastewater treatment facilities, enabling both energy savings and efficient urban management. We will successfully carry out the demonstration project to enhance energy self-sufficiency and achieve carbon neutrality."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.