In October last year, ECORENEW Inc. operated an exhibition booth at AMSM 2024 (Active Materials and Soft Mechatronics), held in Songdo, Incheon.
 

 
https://us.aving.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=52336

ECORENEW Inc. has completed a KRW 2 billion Pre-A investment round to accelerate the commercialization of its eco-friendly oil–water separation technology.
 

 
https://kr.aving.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=1807071

The company received the Grand Prize at the KINGO-GA Startup Competition, the Encouragement Award at the STARTUP WATER Innovation Startup Competition, and the Gyeonggi Province Governor’s Commendation, marking a significant milestone in its growth.
 

 
https://kr.aving.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=1806840

ECORENEW has won the Grand Prize in the Early-Stage Startup category at the 2025 KINGO-GA Startup Competition.

The competition, jointly hosted by Sungkyunkwan University and GA Korea, invited applications fr|om early-stage and growth-stage startups in the Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon regions fr|om October 27 to November 9, 2025. ECORENEW was awarded the Grand Prize, including KRW 10 million, along with the President’s Award fr|om Sungkyunkwan University and the CEO Award fr|om GA Korea following its final presentation on November 20.
 


ECORENEW CEO Dukhyun Choi, winner of the Grand Prize at the 2025 KINGO-GA Startup Competition (bottom row, fourth fr|om the left).
 
 https://www.mt.co.kr/policy/2025/11/21/2025112115594259455

Dukhyun Choi, CEO of ECORENEW Inc., Participates in Interview as Part of the G-Startup Support Program.
 

 
https://www.newsq.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=163370

Climate-tech startup ECORENEW (CEO Dukhyun Choi) attracted attention at the KIEEME Annual Summer Conference 2025, hosted by the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers fr|om June 18 to 20 at BEXCO in Busan. 
 

https://us.aving.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=52552

Dukhyun Choi, Ph.D., CEO of ECORENEW
Jae-Yoon Cho | NewsEconomy
Published: 15 Jul 2025 15:43 KST

Climate change and escalating pollution have made the eco-friendly treatment of wastewater and used lubricants a top priority for manufacturers. Yet many plants still depend on oversized equipment, chemical additives and labor-intensive batch work—methods that inflate costs and reveal environmental limits. As ESG-driven capital flows accelerate, industry now demands low-carbon, high-efficiency solutions.
ECORENEW, an environmental-technology start-up, meets that demand. Powered by its proprietary superhydrophilic / superhydrophobic nano-structured surface platform, the company’s continuous oil-water separator (OWS), “RenewFLOW,” converts marine-spill oil, industrial wastewater and used lubricants on site into high-purity cooling water and re-refined lubricant oil. The unit cuts energy, space and operating expense while delivering 99.99 % separation efficiency (≤ 100 ppm for on-site reuse, ≤ 15 ppm for discharge)—all without chemical additives or bulk tanks.
Developed by research teams at POSTECH and Sungkyunkwan University, the technology has secured a TIPS grant and four additional government projects, validating its performance and reliability. ECORENEW will commercialize its industrial cooling-water model in 2025, expand to a re-refined gear-oil unit, and scale abroad. CEO Dukhyun Choi, Ph.D., shares the company’s progress and vision.

Company Overview
“ECORENEW is dedicated to transforming waste streams into resources,” Choi says. “Our nanofilters allow factories to convert oily wastewater into clean water and re-refined lubricant in real time.”
Most plants channel contaminated cooling water and lubricants into a floor-level collection pit and treat them later in low-efficiency separators. The pit rapidly fouls again, forcing costly shutdowns for deep cleaning. RenewFLOW operates next to the pit 24/7, purifying inflow immediately. The pit stays clean, production continues, and facilities reduce disposal costs, carbon emissions, odor and worker exposure.
ECORENEW began as a laboratory spin-out. The CTO—formerly a POSTECH professor of mechanical engineering—spent two decades on nano-structured surface research; commercializing those findings led to the firm’s launch.
In July 2025, ECORENEW Inc. (CEO Dukhyun Choi) introduced its corporate vision and technological capabilities through an interview with Economy in News, a media outlet selected for the Innovation Voucher PR Support Program.

Core Business & Technology
The flagship RenewFLOW is a continuous oil-water separator (OWS) equipped with superhydrophilic / superhydrophobic nanofilters. Rather than inventing a new filter body, ECORENEW applies a nano-scale surface treatment that creates a selective wetting surface on standard substrates—its key competitive edge.
• Modular, automated architecture scales easily; the installation footprint is up to 80 % smaller than gravity or flotation units.• No chemicals or large tanks lowers energy use and frees floorspace.• 99.99 % efficiency (≤ 100 ppm for on-site reuse, ≤ 15 ppm for discharge) removes even ultra-fine emulsions.• High-purity cooling water extends tooling life; re-refined lubricant reduces fresh-oil spend.
Combined demand for oil-water separation and re-refined-oil solutions already tops tens of billions of dollars, and ESG-driven capital flows are accelerating uptake of high-performance green technologies.
Credibility milestones include a TIPS grant in year one, five active government projects, R&D-type venture certification, ISO 9001 & 14001, and a Korea Green & Energy Award for Green Technology. CES 2025 exposure has opened multiple domestic and international partnerships.
While many papers discuss nano-structured surface processing, industrialization is rare. ECORENEW has overcome cost, process-simplification and durability hurdles—and sees no direct peer product on the market.

Future Plans
This year ECORENEW will deliver its first commercial industrial cooling-water unit. Next year it will introduce a re-refined gear-oil unit, completing a full product line. In parallel, the firm is reinforcing a patent portfolio that covers both filter chemistry and critical separator modules, ensuring secure entry into domestic and overseas markets. After meetings at Japanese trade shows, ECORENEW is laying the groundwork for Japan, Vietnam and Europe.
“Our principle is simple: safeguard the planet and raise profits simultaneously,” Choi states. “We aim to deploy our technology in industrial sites worldwide, leaving a cleaner world for future generations.”

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https://www.newseconomy.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=18030
 

ECORENEW Inc., has participated in the Innovation Leaders Summit (ILS 2024), Asia’s largest open innovation matching event, held at Toranomon Hills in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2024.
 

https://us.aving.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=52409

Dukhyun Choi, CEO of ECORENEW Inc., established with support fr|om the entrepreneurship program at Sungkyunkwan University, participated in an interview.


 
https://www.skkuw.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=32078