Big deals: Visitors watch the North Korea side from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea. South Korea is in talks to supply nuclear reactors to the United Kingdom, Poland and Slovenia. — AP
SEOUL: South Korea’s long-held ambition of exporting its nuclear power technology got a major boost last week, potentially setting it up to be the reactor provider of choice to several countries.
State-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co was chosen to build two multibillion-dollar reactors in the Czech Republic, beating out rivals and paving the way for South Korean companies to potentially score a string of deals across the continent.
“Now a bridgehead has been established for us to export nuclear plants to Europe,” South Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun declared after the win.
The project, once finalised, could put the Asian nation in pole position to build reactors in Europe, which is once again warming to nuclear energy to wean itself off expensive fossil fuels and hit ambitious pollution reduction targets.
Thanks to their cost-competitiveness and an export strategy honed over decades, the South Koreans are edging out rivals mired in budget overruns and delays or geopolitical and trade tensions.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear is conducting a feasibility study for a nuclear plant in the Netherlands, while Sweden’s Vattenfall AB is considering using South Korean technology.
The country is also in talks to supply reactors to the United Kingdom, Poland and Slovenia, putting it on track to achieve the government’s pledge to export 10 units by 2030.
Its rise won’t be without contest. President Joe Biden this week signed a bill that promises to revive the United States’ nuclear industry, and even facilitate the export of technology.
Westinghouse Electric Co has filed a lawsuit claiming South Korea is using its intellectual property and should be barred from sharing it. The United States company warned it may file legal challenges over the Czech deal.
Much of South Korea’s ascent is due to its ability to deliver reactors as all-inclusive packages – from equipment, construction, and fuel supply to commissioning, maintenance, and even financing – while largely meeting deadlines and containing costs.
“A nuclear plant is so much more than a reactor,” said Mark Nelson, managing director at Radiant Energy Group, a consultancy.
“It is civil engineering, it is blueprints, crane operators. And South Korea has that,” he said. “They can offer the most competitive package,” he added.
South Korea was picked to build the reactors in the Czech Republic for 400 billion koruna (US$17.3bil).
By contrast, Electricite de France SA said earlier this year that two reactors at Hinkley Point in the United Kingdom would cost as much as £35bil in 2015 terms, which would equate to US$45bil at current exchange rates, and take several years longer than planned.
In the United States, Southern Co’s Vogtle nuclear facility came in more than US$16bil over budget and seven years behind schedule.
Seoul’s nuclear export strategy has been decades in the making. Back in 1987, its state-run utility agreed to a technology transfer with US-based Combustion Engineering, then developed the design to create its own homegrown reactor.
Since then, it’s built 28 reactors domestically, with four more scheduled to operate before 2040.
Its first reactor export, to the United Arab Emirates, was announced in 2009. The Arab world’s first commercial nuclear facility grappled with delays and came in 25% over budget, but that didn’t stop South Korea’s export push. — Bloomberg
