Industry minister to boost nuclear plant bid in Czech Republic

Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant in the Czech Republic. [Courtesy of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.]

South Korea‘s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun will visit the Czech Republic next week to bolster Korea’s bid for a 30 trillion won ($21.7 billion) nuclear power plant deal in the country.

According to a government source on Wednesday, the minister‘s visit to the Czech Republic is aimed at advancing negotiations for the deal while addressing export-related concerns in neighboring Eastern European countries.

The Czech government plans to build four new nuclear power plants, two each at Dukovany, 220 km south of Prague, and Temelin, 130 km away. The bidding deadline for the project, estimated to be worth 30 trillion won, is April 30th, 2024, with the preferred bidder to be announced in June.

The competition was narrowed down to a Korean consortium and Electricite de France SA (EDF) after U.S. competitor Westinghouse Electric Co. was disqualified.

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon and Chang Iou-chung]

Despite EDF’s strong position, the Korean group, consisting of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co. (KEPCO E&C), and Doosan Enerbility Co. remains competitive with reasonable prices. According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), Korea‘s nuclear construction cost per kilowatt-hour will be $3,571 by 2021, lower than the U.S.’s $5,833 or France‘s $7,931.

But a major obstacle for Korea in securing the Czech nuclear power plant deal is Westinghouse’s intellectual property lawsuit over the design of the APR1400 reactor that KHNP seeks to export. Westinghouse alleges that this design infringes on its intellectual property and filed a lawsuit in January 2022 in the Federal District Court of Washington D.C. The court dismissed the case a year later, citing Westinghouse‘s lack of standing as a plaintiff because export control authority rests with the U.S. government. Westinghouse appealed to the appellate court in October 2023.

To address the issue, Ahn recently visited the United States to seek government cooperation on the Czech deal and was accompanied by senior officials from the ministry’s nuclear bureau. Prior to the minister‘s trip, KHNP President Hwang Ju-ho also visited Washington D.C., according to a source familiar with the issue.

If Korea wins the Czech nuclear power plant deal, it will be the country’s second nuclear export in 15 years following a deal for the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates in 2009. The Barakah plant, awarded to a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corp. 15 years ago, is set to be completed in 2024 once the final fourth reactor is operational.