Nuclear sector sees SMRs as the next wave of innovation

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s winning a bid to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic is expected to give domestic nuclear power plant builders more opportunities to build small modular reactors (SMRs).

Industry experts say that SMRs, the next generation of nuclear power plants, will bolster the Korean nuclear sector moving forward.

SMRs are emerging as a viable solution to soaring demand for electricity amid explosive advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. Compared to larger nuclear reactors, they have shorter construction times and can be built closer to demand centers. SMRs also offer higher reliability as their main equipment is integrated without extensive piping.

Doosan Enerbility Co. has been taking the lead in the SMR sector with a foundry strategy that outsources manufacturing to fabless SMR developers and implements various cycles. In 2019, the company became the first domestic company to invest in U.S. SMR company NuScale Power Corp. and secured the right to supply equipment worth trillions of won. It will also supply reactor modules to an SMR power plant in Doicesti, Romania, scheduled to be operational in 2029. Romania’s RoPower, is constructing the 462-megawatt SMR power plant on the site of a closed coal-fired power plant.

Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises in the nuclear power sector are hoping they will benefit by expanding reactor exports to Europe after the Czech government announced that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) was the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors.