Samsung Heavy Industries has begun developing "floating small modular reactor power generation (FSMR)," a next-generation offshore energy infrastructure. An FSMR is an offshore nuclear power platform that mounts a small modular reactor (SMR) on a floating structure at sea to generate electricity.
Samsung Heavy Industries said FSMRs are drawing attention as an effective energy infrastructure for coastal island regions where securing sites for power generation is difficult or where grid connection is limited.
On the 22nd, Samsung Heavy Industries said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for mutual priority cooperation with Sargent & Lundy (S&L), a U.S. nuclear power plant design and engineering company, to develop a universal FSMR standard platform. Since its founding in 1891, S&L has been a global company responsible for the design and engineering of global nuclear power projects.
Samsung Heavy Industries sees the target market for the platform as the global market, including the United States, and views this agreement as a key step for FSMR, currently at the concept design level, to advance to the stage of actual commercial deployment.
Samsung Heavy Industries said that under the joint development agreement reached this time, the two companies plan to develop a universal "FSMR standard platform" capable of mounting various types of reactors.
For the commercial deployment of the FSMR standard platform, the two companies plan to cooperate in major commercialization stages, from development to licensing support and construction planning and sea deployment strategies. Samsung Heavy Industries also said it will enhance the technical completeness of the FSMR so the platform meets international standards and U.S. regulatory standards.
Samsung Heavy Industries expects to enter the offshore nuclear power market by combining its own engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities for offshore plants with S&L's nuclear power design and engineering technology.
Kim Kyoung-hee, head of future business at Samsung Heavy Industries, said, "Collaboration with S&L, a leader in global nuclear power design and engineering, will be a milestone that elevates Samsung Heavy Industries' FSMR technology to the next level," adding, "We will accelerate the advancement of FSMR technology, a next-generation growth engine, to lead the global offshore nuclear power market."