KOREA
NUCLEAR
BULLETIN

UK MPs from Anglesey invited KEPCO, KEPCO E&C, and KNA to discuss about new reactor construction at Wylfa and to conduct site investigation. KEPCO assessed that the overall condition of Wylfa makes it a favorable nuclear site. According to John Cornelius, an employee at Horizon, the water is deep, the sea water temperature is low, and the ground is firm at Wylfa. He believes the site is adequate enough to construct four nuclear reactors. It is expected that the construction process would create jobs in the area, so the level of public acceptance is high. During this visit, an MoU between KNA and NIA (Nuclear Industry Association) was discussed and finally in November, Executive Vice President of KNA Mincheol Lee and Chief Executive of NIA Tom Greatrex signed an MoU. The two associations have agreed to cooperate on information exchanges, support for developing partnerships amongst companies from both countries, co-training the workforce in both countries.

At a separately held meeting with the First Deputy Director of UzAtom, Mr. Kim emphasized that the performance of Korean nuclear reactor had already been proven in Korea and the UAE and explained in particular that KEPCO will fully cooperate with UzAtom in the efforts to prepare the technological solution to the issue of insufficient cooling water in Uzbekistan. Remembering the cooperative experiences KEPCO had with Uzbekistan at the KEDO nuclear power plant project, KEPCO will continue to exchange ideas with Uzbekistan to presenting the nuclear power plant package tailored to the needs of Uzbekistan and help Korea achieve its goal of exporting 10 more nuclear reactors.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) received the IJGlobal ESG Award at the IJGlobal ESG AWARDS 2023 held in London on October 19 for its sub-sea high voltage direct current (HVDC) project in the UAE.

The UAE subsea HVDC project received the IJGlobal ESG Award for the Energy transition category of Middle East and Northern Africa region. The project delivers electricity generated from the clean energy sources including those generated from the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant that KEPCO is currently constructing to the offshore industrial complex. The line replaces the aged offshore thermal generation that the complex has been dependent on, and thus contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions in the UAE. This award is not the first for KEPCO this year, as it received earlier the Deal of the Year from both PFI and IJGlobal for successful project financing in September 2022 despite the challenging conditions brought on by unstable international politics and financial market constraints.

The IJGlobal ESG Award this year internationally recognized KEPCO's project as a model low carbon, eco-friendly ESG governance that is in line with the energy paradigm shift and the carbon neutral goals by 2050.

In a significant move towards collaborative pursuit of the retubing and refurbishment project of the Cernavoda Unit 1 nuclear power plant in Romania, a tripartite consortium comprising Candu Energy Inc. (Candu) as a member of AtkinsRéalis, Ansaldo Nucleare S.p.A. (Anslado) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) has solidified a partnership through the signing of a consortium agreement. The agreement was inked in an official ceremony on October 12, at the headquarters of Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), the stateowned Romanian nuclear energy company. The project will be undertaken in anticipation of the license renewal of Cernavoda Unit 1. The total project cost is estimated to reach EUR 1.85 billion. The plant is a CANDU-6 (700MW) unit with a design lifetime of 30 years. The Cernavoda Unit 1 has been in operation since 1996 and its original operating license expires by the end of 2026. In pursuit of the license renewal for an additional 30 years, SNN plans to upgrade and replace the key components such as pressure tubes, turbines and generator internals from 2027 until 2029.

Candu is the original equipment designer, manufacturer and steward of CANDU technology worldwide while Ansaldo is the original designer of the Balance of Plant of Cernavoda Units 1 and 2. In the forthcoming project, Candu and Ansaldo will lead the engineering and procurement aspects of the Nuclear Steam Plant and Balance of Plant work respectively. KHNP, a major nuclear power plant operator, successfully completed a retubing project for one of its own reactors. Employing its capabilities, the company will spearhead the construction phase including infrastructures such as the radioactive waste storage facility. With the unique strengths harnessed, the synergistic partnership will cultivate an environment for a seamless and satisfactory delivery of the project to the client's satisfaction.

The three parties will commence vigorous preparation for the proposal before the contract negotiation begins with SNN. The main contract with SNN is expected to be awarded within the first half of 2024.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is collaborating with global companies to prepare for the decommissioning of Wolseong Unit 1, a heavy water reactor.
On October 31 (local time), KHNP signed a nuclear power plant decommissioning cooperation agreement with Kinectrics, a Canadian nuclear power engineering company, at Kinectrics' headquarters in Toronto.
Following the agreement, KHNP technical personnel will be dispatched to overseas nuclear power plant decommissioning sites, where they will receive technical advice and invitation training from overseas experts. KHNP has signed an MOU with Kinectrics in 2019 to secure experience in decommissioning heavy water reactor nuclear power plants and train professional manpower. The Korean company dispatched in 2021 its personnel to the Canadian nuclear power plant decommissioning site.
Also on the same day, KHNP signed a letter of intent on heavy water reactor fuel management technology with Canada's NWMO (Nuclear Waste Management Organization) at the NWMO headquarters in Toronto, promising to strengthen technical cooperation in the heavy water reactor field. NWMO is an organization established through joint investment by Canadian power generation companies to manage and conduct research and development on spent nuclear fuel.
KHNP is preparing a final decommissioning plan with the aim to apply for a decommissioning permit for Wolseong Unit 1 by June of next year, and plans to begin full-scale decommissioning as soon as the approval is given. Chang Hee-seung, Executive Vice President of KHNP's power generation business division, said, “KHNP is continuously expanding cooperation with leading global companies in the field of nuclear power plant decommissioning,” and added, “With this agreement, KHNP's expertise in heavy water reactor decommissioning is expected to further increase.”

KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company Inc.(KEPCO E&C), an engineering company having both architect engineering and Nuclear Steam Supply System(NSSS) design technology of nuclear power plants, is bolstering its entry into the global Small Modular Reactor(SMR) Market.
On October 20, KEPCO E&C and ARC Clean Technology (ARC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for pursuing commercialization of ARC-100, KEPCO E&C will collaborate with ARC, including support in standard design and licensing of ARC-100.
ARC-100 is a type of sodium-cooled fast reactor(SFR) being developed by ARC, and classified as Gen 4 SMR. ARC had completed Phase 1 of Pre-Licensing Vendor Design Review(VDR) provided by Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission(CNSC). Continuing that, ARC submitted an application for a license to prepare Point Lepreau site for ARC-100 project on June 2023. The target to submit application for operating license is 2027.
William Labbe, CEO of ARC, stated, “We are developing SMR technology to achieve carbon neutrality and ensure a stable supply of clean energy. We look forward to collaborating with KEPCO E&C to enter the global SMR market.”
In addition, KEPCO E&C is playing a pivotal role in the Korean government's ongoing innovative-SMR(i-SMR) design development.
Also, KEPCO E&C has focused on the market opportunities of the offshore floating nuclear power plants using SMR. The floating nuclear power plant can be installed on the sea or seashore, allowing to reduce effort of site selection and supply energy to islands or remote areas. Therefore, KEPCO E&C has developed its own floating SMR, BANDI. And the company signed a technical cooperation agreement with HD KSOE (Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering) to pursue the application of SMR to ships. On October 5, the jointly developed design of a floating SMR barge received AIP(Approval In Principle) from ABS(American Bureau of Shipping).
KEPCO E&C will pursue to enter into the SMR market, which has come to the limelight as one of the next energy sources, by developing its own floating SMR BANDI, and participating in i-SMR project and the Generation 4 SMR project.

In June 2023, KEPCO KPS participated in the bidding for Angra Nuclear Power Plant valve and RCP maintenance service, and in November 2023, ETN announced that KEPCO KPS was selected as the final contractor for Angra Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 RCP outage service.
Especially, the project will be carried out in a consortium with IC Supply, a local maintenance company in Brazil, and will inspect the integrity of the RCP of Angra Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 a total of four times, from the 20th planned outage in November 2024 to the 23rd in May 2028.
In fact, the planned outage was performed for Brazil's Angra nuclear power plant in April 1993. This was the first international maintenance services for nuclear power plant led by KEPCO KPS, but it was in the form of dispatching workers rather than an exclusive contract. However, this contract including 2014 contract, is exclusively led by KEPCO KPS, which is catching attention as a representative example that shows the world the capabilities of KEPCO KPS' nuclear power plant maintenance services.
Next, KEPCO KPS successfully completed performing ECT(Eddy Current Testing) of the steam generator in Unit 4 of the Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden in August 2023. This is a contract in the form of dispatching workers with WEG(Westinghouse Electric Germany GmbH) with which KEPCO KPS signed an agreement for non-destructive testing of steam generators in Europe, in July 2021.
ECT is a process that maintains the integrity of the equipment by performing non-destructive testing on the reactor in-core thimble tube, reactor head penetration tube, etc. to detect and take action on defects at an early stage. In order to perform ECT on steam generators at the Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden, KEPCO KPS conducted 3 weeks of overseas consignment training in Germany in June 2021 for domestic technology specialists and acquired Steam Generator ECT qualifications certified by the Swedish Qualification Center.
After obtaining qualifications, the project has been carried out for 3 years, starting from the perfect ECT of the steam generator in Unit 3 of Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden in August 2021, to successful inspection of Ringhals Unit 4.
In this way, KEPCO KPS, which provides high-quality nuclear power plant maintenance services, is promoting the excellence of Korea's nuclear power plant maintenance technology in the global market by not only winning exclusive maintenance orders but also continuously providing competent worker upon the request of customers.

Doosan Enerbility recently won a project for the storage and transportation cask of spent nuclear fuel using its homegrown technology.
On November 2, Doosan Enerbility announced that it had signed a contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to carry out the overall design of a spent nuclear fuel dry storage system. By winning this contract for which the winner was determined via international competitive bidding, Doosan Enerbility will be completing the design work and obtaining certification by 2027 for the dry storage system, which includes the cask for storing and transporting spent nuclear fuel.
The spent nuclear fuel generated from nuclear power plants will be cooled down by having it stored in a water-filled pool for the first five years, after which it will be removed from the pool and moved outside for dry storage. As the casks used in this process need to be designed to ensure safety and protection from radiation and heat, the highest level of design and manufacturing expertise is required.

The nuclear industry estimates that approximately 2,800 casks will be needed for the dry storage and interim storage facilities in the Korean market, leading to the forecast that the market will grow to the size of approximately KRW 8.4 trillion by 2060. Upon winning the manufacturing contract, Doosan Enerbility plans to work in collaboration on the related processes with its 140 small-to-medium sized partner companies spread across the various regions in an effort to promote the Korean domestic nuclear power industry.
“This contract holds huge significance as it was won with our locally-developed cask and this essentially laid the foundation for our Korean-standard spent nuclear fuel storage & transportation cask business, for which we forecast there will be new orders amounting to trillions of Korean won in the future,” said Jongdoo Kim, CEO of Doosan Enerbility's Nuclear Business Group. “By working together with our smallto- medium sized local partners in Korea, we aim to do our utmost to enhance our manufacturing competitiveness, as we seek to also venture into the areas of interim storage and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel.”

Doosan Enerbility signed a technology cooperation agreement with the U.S. NAC(Nuclear Assurance Corporation) in 2015, after which a wide-ranging cask line-up applicable to various environments in the Korean and global market was developed. Doosan and NAC jointly developed a Koreantype metal storage overpack(MSO) to be applied to a Korean project and for which design certification was obtained from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
In 2019, Doosan accomplished the feat of becoming the first Korean company to win a spent nuclear fuel cask supplier contract for the Three Mile Island(TMI) Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. This was followed by another subsequent win in 2021 of the cask contract for Unit 2 of the TMI Nuclear Power Plant and for which development is currently underway.

YPP, a South Korean company specializing in electrical and power equipment, is set to supply turbine system measurement equipment to Türkiye's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. This achievement comes through the support of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Nuclear Association (KNA) in their bidding and regulatory information service. The ministry and the association are fostering small and medium-sized nuclear enterprises capable of independent exports, as well as joint overseas expansion between state-owned nuclear corporations and their suppliers.
According to KNA, YPP secured in January 2023 a contract to supply turbine system-related measurement equipment to Türkiye's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, a deal amounting to €4.6 million (approximately 6.6 billion won). Previously part of the “Team Korea” in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) export project, YPP supplied Electrical Control and Monitoring Systems (ECMS) to the BNPP Units 1-4. YPP has now successfully become an independent exporter by supplying turbine system-related measurement equipment to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project. The turbine system measurement equipment plays a crucial role in monitoring and measuring the operational state of turbine systems, providing essential information to operators.
Soon-hyung Lee, head of YPP, stated that the design phase of the turbine measurement equipment is complete, with the manufacturing stage underway. The company plans to deliver the equipment for the first and second units in early 2024, followed by the third and fourth units in 2025. Preparations are also being made for additional contracts in the Akkuyu and El Dabaa projects, he said. YPP, established in 1982, is a mid-sized enterprise specializing in electrical and power equipment with a workforce of about 150. The company is recognized for its robust technical capability in supplying equipment to nuclear power plants both domestically and internationally. Since 2008, YPP has been supplying ECMS to domestic nuclear power plants, and boasts a wealth of technical expertise in various aspects of nuclear power design, operation, construction, and maintenance.
YPP's successful independent export to a foreign nuclear power plant was significantly aided by its compliance with Türkiye's stringent nuclear safety regulations. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NDK) of Türkiye, which verifies and evaluates manufacturers of nuclear safety-related equipment and their technologies, acknowledged YPP's efforts in adhering to the technical and safety standards. In the course of making its first equipment delivery to Türkiye, YPP successfully navigated the technical regulatory requirements and safety regulation certification process with the support of KNA.
KNA supports MOTIE's policies from behind the scenes. It is the only organization in the country dedicated to fostering and promoting the export of nuclear power industries. Since its establishment in 2011, the association has been utilizing the Ministry's funds for building the nuclear industry's export base. Its activities include inviting key figures from target countries and long-term cooperative nations for nuclear power exports, organizing local exhibitions, business-tobusiness (B2B) meetings, and hosting nuclear seminars and forums. The association also operates “K-neiss,” a website providing comprehensive market information such as overseas bidding information.
Mincheol Lee, Vice Chairman of the Association, stated, “Thanks to the strong export promotion initiative of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, this year's budget for the fund to strengthen the base for nuclear exports has doubled compared to last year.” He added, “We will do our utmost to enhance the independent export capabilities of small and medium-sized nuclear enterprises.”

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), in cooperation with the Korea Nuclear Energy Cooperation Foundation (KONICOF), hosted the IAEA-organized Interregional Workshop on Emergency Preparedness and Response for Small Modular Reactors at the Ramada Hotel Daejeon on October 10-13, 2023.
This workshop brought together 25 IAEA member states and 47 experts on nuclear safety, regulation, and operation from both Korea and abroad. The event's objective was to discuss the latest IAEA developments in the area of Emergency Preparedness and Response for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), focusing on their technology, application, and the role of nuclear power in climate change mitigation. The gathering also aimed to provide a suitable technical foundation for the IAEA's further development of EPR guidelines for SMRs and contribute to new guidance on source term definition and assessment.
Interest in nuclear energy is consistently growing across the globe. Many countries, both industrialized and developing, believe that nuclear power is the most reliable energy source capable of meeting their increasing energy demand for the future. They are confident that nuclear energy can be a safe and economic choice in the future, with a stable long-term supply, and without adverse environmental impacts.
Accordingly, many countries have begun to consider introducing a nuclear power program to their energy mix. Countries with advanced nuclear energy capabilities have become more active than ever in developing innovative nuclear energy systems, including both reactor and fuel cycle technologies, to amplify the role of nuclear energy in the future.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have specific design, safety and siting features as well as applications that should be properly assessed to formulate and plan for adequate Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) arrangements, in particular the size of Emergency Planning Zones (EPZs). EPR is one of the elements in the development of national infrastructure for nuclear power, while EPZ is one of the specific regulatory aspects to enable SMR deployment in diverse siting niches. This should be based on the results of the research and the implementation of defense-in-depth in the design of SMRs, including small power, smaller source term, increased safety margin, enhanced engineered safety system, smaller and slower fission product release, and consequent reduced potential for radiation exposure to population in the vicinity of the plant. Considering the importance of EPR and EPZs, the workshop could not be held at a more opportune moment.
This workshop provided a platform to address technologies on important issues related to EPR for SMRs, and will allow the industry to strengthen partnerships and collaboration, which is the main purpose of the workshop.
Dr. Ki Yong Choi, Senior Vice President for Nuclear Safety and Base Technology Lab, stated, “The development of Small Modular Reactors and Micro-reactors (MR) is very actively underway globally as an alternative option for addressing climate change and energy crisis. This workshop would significantly contribute to strengthening capabilities for emergency preparedness and response on the development and deployment of advanced reactors, as well as for global nuclear safety.”
On October 13, the last day of the workshop, participants made a technical tour of advanced SMR development and EPR facilities of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) and KAERI. The tour included a visit to the Radiological Accident Preparedness System in Korea (RAPS-K) and the SMART Control Room Simulator.