Korea 'guaranteed' role in Polish nuclear project

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power signed a letter of intent with Zespol Elektrowni Patnow-Adamov-Konin and state-owned Polska Grupa Energetyczna to cooperate on developing a nuclear power project in Patnow. This is a private sector nuclear project.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang and Jacek Sasin, Minister of State Assets sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two countries on nuclear energy development in Seoul on Monday. [YMJNISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY]

Korea came a step closer to winning a contract to build a nuclear power plant in Poland.

If it does, it will be Korea’s first full nuclear power plant export in 13 years. In a press briefing in Seoul on Monday, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Asset Jacek Sasin said Korea is "100 percent" guaranteed to be a partner in the Patnow nuclear power plant project.

Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang said he expects construction of the plant to begin around 2025 or 2026, but Sasin said it may take a little longer.

"Paperwork alone takes at least four to five years," Sasin told the press in Seoul on Monday. "2025 is too early."

He explained that while the Patnow project is a private sector project, the government backs it.

Separately, the Polish-government is building a nuclear power plant in Lubiatowo-Kopalino, which will be the country's first. The American firm Westinghouse Electric was chosen to build the $40 billion project Friday.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a letter of intent Monday with Poland’s Zespol Elektrowni Patnow-Adamov-Konin (ZE PAK) and state-owned Polska Grupa Energetyczna to cooperate on developing the Patnow project, which will be built on the site of the Patnow thermal power plant, which will shut down in 2024.

Specifics of the project have not been released including the number of reactors and the estimated value.

The technology for the Patnow project will be based on Korea's APR1400 reactor.

According to KHNP, the three companies will start planning the nuclear power plant, including preliminary analysis of the site's geography and seismic and environmental conditions.

The three companies will also work on the budget, construction and production plans as well as its finances, including guarantees from Korean state-owned financial institutions.

The plan for the nuclear project is to be completed by the end of this year.

“ZE PAK and PGE opted for potential cooperation with KHNP because of safe and effective Korean nuclear reactor technology,” KHNP said in a press release.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee and Sasin signed an agreement saying the two countries will support the companies working on the Patnow nuclear plant project and regularly share information.

“We need sources of cheap and stable energy in Poland,” said Sasin. "Nuclear energy is essential in Polish conditions, especially in the current geopolitical situation.

“We welcome the information that ZE PAK and PGE have entered into talks with KHNP, which will further strengthen relations between Poland and South Korea," he continued. "Certainly, this would be the next step in strengthening business cooperation between our countries and a great opportunity for knowledge transfer.”

Korea's Lee emphasized the importance on the cooperation between the two countries for Korea’s nuclear energy industry.

“The project has reopened the gate for exports of a nuclear power plant for the first time in 13 years since the deal with the UAE in 2009, and it validates the excellence of the APR1400,” Lee said. “Once a final contract is made, we anticipate that it will greatly contribute to revitalizing the domestic nuclear industry.”

The letter of intent between the companies and the agreement between the governments came two months after the two sides expressed interest in cooperating.

From left, Whang Joo-ho, Korea Hydro Nuclear Power president, Zygmunt Solorz, ZE PAK chairman, Piotr Wozny, ZE PAK CEO and Wojciech Dabrowski, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna president, signs a letter of intent regarding the development of Patnow nuclear power plant in Seoul on Monday. [MINISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY]

Two months ago, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a contract with Atomstroyexport (ASE), a subsidiary of Moscow's state-owned Rosatom, in Cairo for the sale of equipment and materials and the construction of the main and auxiliary buildings in the El-Dabaa nuclear power project in Egypt.

President Yoon Suk-yeol has pledged to export 10 nuclear power plants by 2030.

On Friday, the Polish government announced that it selected Westinghouse Electric to build the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant, which is to go online in 2033.

“We confirm our nuclear energy project will use the reliable, safe technology of @WECNuclear,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter

Westinghouse has been trying to block Korea from winning parts of the Polish government's nuclear energy project. A week ago, it filed a lawsuit against KHNP stating that the APR1400 reactor was based on its own System 80 reactor.

Polish media reported that the bid by KHNP was the lowest of all competitors in that project including Westinghouse and France’s EDF.

Reportedly, KHNP offered to build all six reactors for $26.7 billion compared to Westinghouse's $31.3 billion and EDF's $33 billion.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]