Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Team Korea in the K nuclear power sector will adopt a two-track strategy by cooperating with the United States in the overseas large nuclear power market while exporting its own developed "innovative small modular reactor (i-SMR)" in the small modular reactor market. This is a plan to maximize orders while avoiding intellectual property disputes with the U.S. company Westinghouse.
According to the nuclear power industry and the government on the 10th, KHNP has begun a joint feasibility study for the introduction of i-SMR in partnership with Norway's Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft AS. This project is focusing on the Taftøy industrial area located in the Aure and Heim regions of Norway.
The Taftøy industrial area can accommodate a power plant with a total capacity of 1,500 megawatts (MW). It is large enough to deploy eight units of i-SMR, each with a capacity of 170 MW. Currently, the Norwegian government and its agencies have started developing an environmental impact assessment program.
The i-SMR is an integrated pressurized water small modular reactor, and it is the next-generation nuclear power model being developed by KHNP. The investment expense compared to existing large nuclear plants is one-third, with a construction period that is half as long. The goal is to obtain standard design approval within three years.
For independent exports, KHNP has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with European countries such as Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, as well as Thailand and Jordan. KHNP aims to use its success in the Norwegian i-SMR bid as a foothold for entering the European market.
The reason why KHNP is investing in i-SMR is due to the intellectual property dispute with Westinghouse. KHNP had a dispute with Westinghouse for over two years regarding intellectual property during the Czech nuclear plant bidding, but agreed in January to halt the dispute and collaborate in the global nuclear power market.
KHNP President Hwang Ju-ho, during a local meeting in the Czech Republic this past May, responded to a question about what it meant to "give up European exports to Westinghouse" by saying, "(The European market is) a battlefield. In a place legally becoming very complicated, trying to break through with bidding could drain all of KHNP's strength. Rather than that, I thought we should penetrate the SMR market, so I went to Norway and Sweden to sign agreements."
KHNP plans to strengthen cooperation with the United States in large nuclear markets such as Europe and the U.S. President Donald Trump announced a "nuclear renaissance policy" aimed at quadrupling the U.S. nuclear power capacity by 2050, which may require a $100 trillion investment to build 10 nuclear plants by 2030. This policy is likely to be led by Westinghouse.
Team Korea in the K nuclear sector includes construction and engineering companies (Hyundai E&C, Soosan Industries), primary equipment and turbines (Doosan Enerbility), design and engineering (KEPCO E&C), equipment and parts (BH, KEPCO KPS, Hyosung Heavy Industries, ILJIN Power, Taihan Cable & Solution), and heavy machinery (Hyundai Construction Equipment, HD Hyundai Infracore).
A representative from the nuclear power industry said, "Westinghouse is pursuing business in Europe and construction of nuclear power plants in the United States, but it is difficult to handle design, material supply, and construction all at once. Korea still has a viable supply chain, so cooperation is necessary."