Hosted by South Gyeongsang Province and organized by the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum (KAIF), the Korean Nuclear Society, and Gyeongnam Technopark, the "2025 Gyeongnam SMR International Conference" will be held on the 28th at the Changwon Convention Center.
Marking its second year, the theme of this conference is "Gyeongnam, the global SMR manufacturing hub." Leveraging small modular reactors (SMRs) — a zero-carbon energy source drawing attention as an alternative for the future energy transition — and Gyeongnam's status as a global nuclear plant manufacturing base, the event will discuss the status of technology development for next-generation SMR industry and cooperation plans for manufacturing innovation.
An SMR is a next-generation reactor that adopts a passive safety concept, offering stability with automatic cooling and shutdown without external power or human intervention. Through an integral design and factory fabrication, it reduces construction time and initial expense, offering economic feasibility. Beyond power generation, it can be integrated and used across various industries, including industrial process heat supply, hydrogen production, and seawater desalination.
This year's event will feature government officials from the States of Utah and Maryland in the United States, who will release SMR policies of U.S. State Governments. Utah is actively supporting advanced technology research, including molten salt reactors and SMRs, with interest in nuclear power development and the introduction of next-generation innovative nuclear technologies.
Maryland, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for friendship and technology exchange with South Gyeongsang Province, is home to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the headquarters of X-energy, one of the U.S. SMR corporations. At this event, it plans to release State Governments' SMR industry policies.
Major global SMR corporations will participate, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); the United States' NuScale Power, TerraPower, and NANO Nuclear Energy; Canada's ARC Clean Technology; Singapore's ThorCon; Denmark's Seaborg; and Japan's Hitachi GE Vernova. From Korea, more than 400 people from domestic nuclear corporations, academia, and research circles will attend, including Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), Doosan Enerbility, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company (KEPCO E&C), and the Innovative SMR Technology Development Project Group.
The conference will consist of: ▲ a keynote lecture on responding to the climate crisis and SMRs, and Korea's role for SMRs; ▲ an IAEA special lecture; ▲ a domestic session on K-SMR and the global SMR outlook; and ▲ an overseas session on the strategies and visions of global SMR corporations.
An MOU for cooperation on SMR manufacturing and design will also be signed. South Gyeongsang Province, Denmark's Seaborg, and PK Valve & Engineering will promote international joint research cooperation for SMR design and manufacturing. On the 29th, SMR industry officials will conduct a "technical tour," visiting nuclear corporations' sites in Gyeongnam in person.
Vice Governor for Economic Affairs Kim Byung-joo said, "Gyeongnam is the center of Korea's nuclear industry, with about 340 nuclear corporations clustered here, and through expanded global cooperation via the Gyeongnam SMR International Conference, we will also establish ourselves as a global SMR manufacturing base. As the SMR industry is a key sector that will lead stable power supply for future generations and achieve carbon neutrality, South Gyeongsang Province will spare no effort in supporting technology exchange, research and development, and exports so that corporations in the province can secure competitiveness in the global market."