Innovative SMR, technology development anchor raised... 43 organizations, 150 billion R&D distributed

‘i-SMR Business Group’ headquarters established at Daejeon Science CenterResearchers at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and KEPCO Fuel begin SMR designThe goal is to complete the design by the end of 25 years and obtain standard design approval by the end of 28 years.​Domestic researchers have launched an all-out effort to develop an ‘innovative small modular nuclear reactor’ (i-SMR). i-SMR is a project that will invest a total of 399.2 billion won over six years from this year to 2028, and the government distributed an R&D (research and development) project worth 150 billion won to 43 nuclear research institutes and companies this year. The researchers intend to lead the global SMR market in the 2030s by obtaining standard design approval by 2028.According to the scientific community on the 23rd, the i-SMR Technology Development Division (hereinafter referred to as the i-SMR Division) recently established a headquarters on the 13th floor of the Science Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon and distributed 11 R&D projects to 43 organizations. The total business size is approximately 150 billion won. Currently, about 30 people reside in the i-SMR business headquarters, including full-time i-SMR employees and dispatched personnel from R&D participating organizations.SMR is a nuclear reactor with an electrical output of 300 MW (megawatts) or less. Unlike large nuclear power plants, major equipment such as the reactor, steam generator, coolant pump, and pressurizer are integrated. Multiple modules can be bundled together and can be installed in the city or out of town. Although SMR produces a small amount of spent nuclear fuel, it is evaluated as the most realistic means of responding to climate change as a carbon-free energy source.For this reason, countries around the world, including Korea, the United States, China, and Europe, are developing about 80 SMRs. According to the U.S. nuclear power competitiveness recovery strategy report, the global nuclear power plant market in the 2030s will amount to $500 billion to $740 billion (KRW 570 trillion to KRW 840 trillion). Accordingly, the government launched the i-SMR industry-academic dream team and began technology development this year.The i-SMR business group began the R&D project that forms the basis of the nuclear reactor this year. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has begun developing technologies such as △thermal hydraulic power verification △multipurpose high-precision measurement system △3D reactor core verification platform. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has started developing serious accident comprehensive analysis and evaluation technology, and Hyosung Heavy Industries has started developing a built-in reactor coolant pump. KEPCO Nuclear Fuel was responsible for developing nuclear fuel, control rod assembly, and integrated flammable absorber rod.In the future, researchers plan to develop a 170 MW (megawatt) nuclear reactor and connect four modules to achieve a total electrical output of 680 MW. In particular, the 'passive safety system', which can cool the inside of a nuclear power plant through natural phenomena such as gravity without human intervention, is applied to i-SMR, ensuring high safety. Additionally, since boric acid is not used as before when adjusting electrical output, the amount of radioactive waste generated is significantly reduced.The i-SMR project group plans to complete the nuclear reactor design by the end of 2025 and obtain standard design approval in 2028. Standard design approval is a certification given when safety is secured by simulating various accidents that may occur in a nuclear reactor. Once this certification is granted, SMRs can be built and operated anywhere in the world.Kim Han-gon, head of the i-SMR business unit, said, "We started designing i-SMR this year, and we will increase the number of participating organizations to about 60 by next year to develop innovative technologies that maximize safety and economic efficiency. Through this, we will obtain standard design approval by 2028. “We will lay the foundation for pioneering overseas markets in the 2030s,” he said.

Swedish Industry and Trade Committee visit to the National Assembly... KHNP 'expects' to export iSMR

Meeting with Reps. Lee In-seon, Choi Hyeong-du, Noh Yong-ho, Lee Jae-jeong, and Kim Han-jeongChairman Tobias Anderson: “Looking forward to nuclear power plant cooperation with Korea” [Daily Korea Reporter Ahn Hee-min] While Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is seeking to win an order for a small modular nuclear power plant (SMR) in Sweden, a delegation from the Swedish Industry and Trade Commission is attracting attention by visiting Korea. Rep. Lee In-seon, who met them at the National Assembly, actively promoted SMR marketing.People Power Party lawmaker Lee In-seon's office announced on the 28th that it had a meeting with Tobias Anderson, chairman of the Swedish Industry and Trade Commission, at the National Assembly. At the meeting, Rep. Lee requested support at the National Assembly level so that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power could win the Swedish SMR project.KHNP plans to submit a letter of intent to bid for SMR Construction in Sweden by mid-September. To this end, an ‘innovative SMR commercialization organization’ has been established and is currently active. In January of this year, a letter of intent to participate in the Swedish SMR construction project was submitted, and preliminary screening data was submitted in May. In June, it passed the preliminary screening by Vattenfall, the Swedish state-run electric power company, and is now pending full-scale bidding screening.The Swedish SMR construction project targets the light water reactor SMR type, and the innovative SMR (iSMR) that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is developing is this type.Competitors for the Swedish SMR construction bid include Rolls-Royce SMR's UK-SMR and Westinghouse's AP300, showing that KHNP's bid this time is not easy.This is why Rep. Lee brought iSMR to the attention of Chairman Tobias Anderson and his group. In attendance were Lee Woo-neo, National Assembly Industrial and Self-Government Committee Chairman Lee Jae-jeong, Secretary Kim Han-jeong, Representative Choi Hyeong-du, and Noh Yong-ho.Lawmakers from both countries exchanged pleasantries about energy, electric vehicles, batteries, and the military industry, but the biggest concern was the energy mix due to the climate crisis. Sweden, which has a high-level radiation field, plans to build at least 10 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years and is known to be particularly interested in SMR.Chairman Tobias Anderson said, “Sweden, which has radioactive waste treatment facilities for nuclear power plants, will expand nuclear power plants to overcome the climate crisis,” and added, “We look forward to cooperation with Korea.”In response, Representative Lee In-seon said, “KHNP can be the most suitable and ideal partner for the Swedish SMR construction project,” and added, “We ask for active support and interest at the National Assembly level.”

[Interview] Kim Han-gon, head of iSMR, “We aim to complete the design in 2025 with purely domestic technology”

Launch of iSMR Technology Development Business Team..."Exclusion of US technology from the beginning to block export controls in advance." [Daily Korea Reporter Ahn Hee-min] The journey toward developing Korean-style small nuclear power plant module iSMR has begun. On the 10th, I met with Kim Han-gon, head of the Innovative Small Module Reactor Technology Development Division, who will lead the technology development of iSMR, whose design will be completed in 2025. Director Kim Han-gon said that he would place the highest priority on securing ‘safety’ in the development of iSMR. This is because safety must be ensured to facilitate acceptance by residents and export. iSMR stands for innovative small module reactor and is called ‘innovative small module nuclear power plant’. Director Kim said, “The most important thing about iSMR is to prevent accidents,” and added, “We need to properly explain this to the public so that they can accept it with confidence in any region.” According to Director Kim, the goal for iSMR is to complete the design by the end of 2025 and receive standard design approval in 2028. If the iSMR is judged to have a high level of completeness, construction will begin before standard design approval to accelerate the completion date. He said, “If we receive permits and prepare for construction from the time the iSMR is completed, it may be too late,” and added, “Once the operator determines that they can obtain permits, we will prepare for construction.” He continued, “By the next year (2025), the outline of where and how the first iSMR unit will be installed will be revealed.” Director Kim is able to present a blueprint from iSMR design to completion because he has 30 years of experience in nuclear power plant design, including APR-1400, a large Korean nuclear power plant. Although there are problems with commercialization, the experience of participating in the smart nuclear power plant development project, which is the origin of iSMR, is also taking a backseat. He said, “It started under the previous government and has received support from both the ruling and opposition parties, and when I saw the announcement for the head of the iSMR project jointly developed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Trade, “I applied because I thought it would be better,” he said. He continued, “The smart nuclear power plant is an integrated nuclear reactor that received standard design approval for the first time in the world in 2011. “It is a well-made nuclear power plant with the technology of the time, but I wish the technology had been applied now,” he explained. “The world is accepting iSMR because iSMR can replace coal power generation and perform things that large nuclear power plants cannot.” Director Kim said that, unlike large nuclear power plants, we are keeping in mind from the beginning that iSMR is not subject to U.S. export controls. He said, “In the case of large nuclear power plants, we decided to follow US export controls in accordance with the Korea-US Nuclear Energy Agreement, but ISMR is developed independently without such an agreement, so it does not have the restrictions that large nuclear power plants have.” He added, “The iSMR Technology Development Project Group uses American technology. “We always check at the beginning to avoid doing this,” he explained. At the launch ceremony on the 10th, Director Kim also mentioned Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kang Kyung-seong's order to expedite standard design approval. He said, “The three years between completing the iSMR design and receiving standard design approval are purely a matter between the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission) and the business operator.” He added, “Because the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission is a regulatory agency that determines safety, the timing of standard design approval is without any basis.” cannot be brought forward. “In order to accelerate that time, we need to increase the safety and completeness of iSMR, and in that sense, we are taking this to mean further improving safety and completeness.” In response to the criticism that iSMR's schedule is later than that of the U.S. NuScale, which proposed a commercialization schedule of 2026, Director Kim responded, "NewScale is not a competitor." He said, “Because the global SMR market is so large, I don’t think it is a big problem that the U.S. NuScale developed it 2-3 years earlier than Korea. Rather, it is important that NuScale succeeds.” He said, “The awareness that SMR works will only spread if the previous product succeeds properly,” and added, “If Newscale’s SMR development is delayed or fails, Korea will also be affected.” Director Kim also spoke about harmony between SMR and renewable energy. He said, “The only power sources that do not emit carbon are renewable energy and nuclear power. In the case of solar power, electricity is produced during the day, but there is a gap in the morning and evening, and I think SMR can fill this gap.” He added, “Currently, natural gas power generation makes up for the gap in solar power, but natural gas emits greenhouse gases and is not an alternative.” Director Kim expressed confidence in the development of iSMR, saying, “Korea is a country with the potential to never rest in the development of nuclear technology for the past 30 years. With this experience as the foundation and the National Assembly has promised to support it, I think the development of iSMR is fully possible.”