Recognized for pioneering BKT’s AMX technology, Tae-Seok Oh reduced energy costs by 60% and chemical use by 99%—earning the June 2025 Korea Engineer Award.
Tae-Seok Oh, AMX Product Owner (PO) at BKT has been selected as the June recipient of the 2025 Korea Engineer Award for successfully commercializing Korea’s first Anammox-based nitrogen removal technology, AMX.
The Korea Engineer Award is jointly organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Industrial Technology Association. It aims to encourage technological innovation in the industrial field and recognize outstanding engineers. Each month, one engineer from a large corporation and one from a small or medium-sized enterprise is honored.
In June 2025, the award went to Tae-Seok Oh from BKT in the SME category and Seong-Hyun Ki from LG Electronics in the large enterprise category. Each winner received a certificate from the Minister of Science and ICT and a monetary prize of KRW 5 million.
Mr. Oh led the development and demonstration of AMX, a next-generation nitrogen removal technology that treats high-concentration nitrogen with low cost and low energy consumption.
AMX was first applied at the Noksan Wastewater Treatment Plant in Busan, where it achieved impressive operational results:
- 60% reduction in electricity costs
- 99% reduction in chemical usage
- 49% reduction in sludge treatment costs
These results translated into an annual savings of over KRW 1.5 billion. In addition, energy self-sufficiency improved dramatically, rising from 3.8% to 34.9%—an almost tenfold increase.
BKT’s AMX technology adopts a unique Two-Stage system that differentiates it from foreign alternatives, enhancing microbial stability and operational convenience.
By operating separate reactors tailored to the characteristics of Anammox bacteria, BKT resolved the issue of microbial activity loss commonly seen in conventional systems. The company is also the only one in Korea with a large-scale microbial cultivation system, enabling rapid supply and recovery even in emergency situations.
Want to learn more about AMX?
Leave a comment