South Korea Accelerates Nuclear Reactor Export Drive
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico this week signed a memorandum of understanding covering various energy sectors, with a particular focus on nuclear power.
The agreement, signed during Fico’s three-day visit, opens the door for potential South Korean involvement in Slovakia’s plans to construct a new 1,200 MWe nuclear unit at the Jaslovske Bohunice plant. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the country’s state-owned nuclear power company, has already expressed strong interest in this project.
This partnership with Slovakia follows a string of recent successes for South Korea’s nuclear industry. Just a few months earlier in July, KHNP secured a major contract with the Czech Republic to build two new nuclear power units at the Dukovany plant, with the possibility of two additional units at Temelin. The deal, valued at approximately $8.65 billion for the initial two units, marked a significant victory for South Korea over competing bids, including one from French energy giant EDF.
In September, the country’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission granted standard design approval for the SMART100 reactor. This advanced small modular reactor, developed collaboratively by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, KHNP, and Saudi Arabia’s KA-CARE, is now poised for global commercialization.
The SMART100, an upgrade of the original SMART design, offers enhanced safety features and improved efficiency, making it particularly attractive for countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia looking to adopt or expand nuclear energy capabilities.
These developments build upon South Korea’s earlier successes in the international nuclear market, including ongoing projects in the United Arab Emirates and a 2022 agreement with a Polish consortium to develop new nuclear reactors.
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