KEPCO NF Acting President Park Chul-joo poses with his company officials 

after being awarded the Korea Nation Quality Award for Equipment 

Innovation at the 39th Korea National Quality Award Convention in Seoul on Nov. 28.

KEPCO NF is the only company in the world that fabricates pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel together with CAMNDU fuel. Since the commercial production of nuclear fuel for the PWR in 1989, KEPCO NF now supplies nuclear fuel to 23 different nuclear power plants currently operating in Korea. 

KEPCO NF has been constantly upgrading its quality and safety levels since the company introduced an international nuclear power quality guarantee system shortly after its establishment. The company, which built its unique KEPCO NF Innovative Production System (KIPS) in 2010, has been endeavoring to produce defect-free nuclear fuel boasting the world’s top-rated quality and high performance.

KEPCO NF has been examining the defect rate of each of its cooperative companies with which it has set up a separate quality guarantee consultative body, while monitoring how to improve quality and the current status of quality. Since 2001 the company has been implementing the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s system of designating companies with excellent quality competitiveness. 

KEPCO NF has been aggressively nurturing nuclear fuel expert manpower. The company is fostering expert manpower in design & engineering, R&D, fabrication, testing, and other areas to secure the quality of nuclear fuel.  

The company’s efforts have attested to its winning diverse prizes and certifications. KEPCO NF has been designated as one of the excellent companies with quality competitiveness for the 13th consecutive year since 2001. The company obtained the ISO 9001 quality certification without outside consulting service in 1997. It was also awarded the ISO 14001:2004 certification for efficient management of environmental danger. 

KEPCO NF has built a calibration quality system based on the Basic National Standards Act and the requirements of ISO.IEC 17025 certification. The company was approved as an internationally recognized accreditation body of the system in 2001, and it was accredited with the KOSHA 18001 safety and health management system certification. 

Since its establishment in 1982 for the purpose of supplying nuclear fuel to domestic facilities, KEPCO NF has been committed to technological innovation and the localization of nuclear fuel. KEPCO NF is now self-reliant in terms of reactor core design, fuel design, and fuel production, including the manufacturing of cladding tubes. At present, KEPCO NF supplies nuclear fuel to all Korean nuclear power plants, while nuclear power, accounting for 40 percent of the total electric power in Korea, feeds the growth engine for every sector of industry in the nation.

Based on the design and manufacturing expertise accumulated over the years, KEPCO NF has attained significant results from its R&D activities. As a result, KEPCO NF has successfully developed highly advanced nuclear fuels, PLUS7™ and ACE7™.

KEPCO NF’s technological prowess has been recognized globally. In 2010, in cooperation with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, KEPCO NF built the Performance Test Facility for Fuel Assembly Hydraulics and Vibration (PLUTO). Korea is the fourth country to establish such infrastructure following the United States, France, and Japan.

KEPCO NF has imported nuclear fuel technology from advanced nuclear countries, has localized the technology, and has acquired a series of technological advancements in nuclear fuel and patented technology developments. Through these experiences, KEPCO NF has accumulated a wealth of competent human resources and technical know-how.