“Signing MOU for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Commercialization” between Daegu City and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)
160,000㎡ at Advanced Industrial Complex near Integrated Airport
On the 17th, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and KHNP CEO Whang Joo-ho signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Daegu City Hall in the interest of Korea’s first commercialization of a 680 MW SMR in an advanced industrial complex near the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Airport.
SMRs, defined as small reactors with an electrical output of less than 300 MW, are deemed “future nuclear power plants” because their main equipment and components can be manufactured in factories and assembled on site, allowing for distributed placement near power consumption areas due to their small scale.
i-SMR can facilitate the integration of core components and allow modular construction. Its design significantly improves safety by preventing the risk of LOCA accident. Also, i-SMR employs passive safety systems unlike traditional reactors depending on external emergency power supply.
Moreover, i-SMR presents a more economically viable option. It requires just one-third of the investment, and can be constructed in half the time compared to large reactors.
i-SMR compensates for the intermittency of renewables with superior operational flexibility. The installed capacity of i-SMR can vary depending on customer needs, such as 4 modules and 8 modules.
KHNP plans to cooperate with i-SMR Development Agency to secure i-SMR innovative technology quickly and aims to complete standard design by 2025, following to obtain the standard design approval by 2028. SMR Regulatory Research Promotion Group draws up a plan to establish a proper validation and evaluation techniques suitable for i-SMR’s specific design characteristics before the application for the approval.
Previously, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy allocated 0.7GW for SMRs by 2035 through the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand on the 31st of May. It announced a specific scheme to introduce one unit consisting of four 170MW modules. Additionally, the Deliberative Council of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science & Technology unveiled ‘A Plan to technology Development and Demonstration Promotion for securing Advanced Nuclear Power’ on 4th of June and said that it would build and promote a systematic support direction for Advanced Nuclear Power.
The MOU includes a feasibility study covering site suitability, economic viability, and enhancing resident acceptance, in a bid to build and commercialize a 680 MW SMR power plant equivalent to the capacity of four 170 MW-per-unit modules.
Daegu City plans to conduct a preliminary feasibility study and aims to obtain standard design approval by 2028, following government procedures, with commercial operation beginning by the mid-2030s. The city’s blueprint is finding an optimized construction site to build the i-SMR in an advanced industrial complex near the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Airport. The complex includes attracting power-intensive industries such as AI semiconductors and data centers to establish an “SMR industrial ecosystem,” and supplying district heating to the new airport Air-City and old downtown areas.
KHNP successfully completed the basic design for the innovative SMR in December last year and is actively participating in the standard design process as part of a government-led research and development project. KHNP CEO Whang Joo-ho stated, “SMRs will drive our economy for over 100 years,” and “the integrated airport area will be turned into a carbon-neutral city while the city’s overall energy costs will be reduced by 30%.”
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
