LG Chem to acquire NanoH2O

LG Chem has decided to purchase US-based water company NanoH2O for $200m.

The company develops, manufactures and markets reverse osmosis (RO) membranes that lower the cost of desalination. LG Chem says that the deal will strengthen its water treatment filter business. The acquisition is expected to close next month.

Last year, NanoH2O was selected for two large projects in Saudi Arabia. The first project was awarded by Al Fatah Water and Power International for phase II of the Jubail desalination plant. QuantumFlux membranes will produce 13,000m³ of water per day.

The second project, a desalination plant to be designed by AES Arabia at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Research Park, will produce 15,000m³ of water per day. Both installations are scheduled for 2014.

NanoH2O also announced plans in October 2013 to build the first advanced RO membrane manufacturing facility in Liyang, China.

The 10,000m² facility will be the company’s second fully integrated manufacturing plant, following the first located in Los Angeles, California. The China facility comes at a total investment of $45m and is expected to be operational by the end of the year.