Ahn Dae-geun, head of the KHNP Washington D.C. Center, receives the standard design approval for the APR 1400 design from Prederick Brown,director of the Division of Inspection and Regional Support in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. (Photos: KHNP)

The Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400), Korea’s homegrown nuclear power reactor, has passed a review of a standard design certification by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC), paving the way for exporting the technology to the United States.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) said on Oct. 4 the US NRC approved an application for standard design certification for APR1400 on Sept. 28. The US NRC is to issue a standard design certification for APR1400 next May after holding a public hearing and completing a rule-making process.

Construction and operation of a nuclear power plant in the United States requires a standard design certification of a reactor. The US NRC’s approval of a standard design certification for APR1400 assures the safety of the reactor. If an APR1400 nuclear plant is built in the United States, it will be subject only to a review on the safety of the characteristics of a plant site.

The standard design certification for APR1400 is expected to reduce the time and costs for licensing of construction and operation of a nuclear power plant, giving KHNP an advantage in entering the U.S. nuclear power market, a KHNP official said.

 The certification is recognized as a reliable technology index both in the United States and the global nuclear power industry, so it is expected to boost the Korean nuclear power exporting industry’s standing abroad, the official said.

APR1400 is a 4,000-MWt pressured-water reactor (PWR). Shin-Hanul Unit 1 is being built with APR1400 following the construction of Shin-Kori Units 3 & 4. Four nuclear power units in the United Arab Emirates are also built using the APR-1400 reactor. KHNP is now sounding out the possibility of exporting APR1400 to such countries as the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Poland.

KHNP began to prepare for the standard design certification for APR1400 in December 2010. In December 2014, KHNP submitted an application for a review of the certification to the US NRC. The U.S. commission completed the review of the application in September 2018, 42 months after it was launched in March 2015.

All American companies have been so far certified by the US NRC. They include GE, Westinghouse and GE Hitachi.
Areva of France and Mitsubishi of Japan submitted an application of a standard design certification in December 2012. A review for Areva has been suspended, but one for Mitsubishi is progressing at a snail’s pace.

APR1400 has been recognized in major countries across the world. Earlier, EU-APR, a European export version of APR1400, has passed a review of design certification by the European Utility Requirements (EUR).

A copy of the standard design approval for the APR 1400 design, approved by the US NRC.