Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, President Chung Jae-hoon of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), Kim Sang-dong, head of the Growth Business Division at KHNP, and President Chung Young-in of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction attend an ceremony in which Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction signed an MOU on the production of clean hydrogen with KHNP on May 12. (Photo: Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction)

Small modular reactors (SMRs), dubbed “smart nuclear power,” have emerged as a game changer in the global energy market. Global attention is focused on Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, which secured the technology to produce SMRs.

Global developers such as NewScale Power of the United States are scrambling to develop SMRs, but only a few are armed with the capability to produce them.

Business and industry sources said chances are high that Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction will emerge as an “SMR version TSMC,” as TSMC of Taiwan supplies system chips according to a customers’ orders.

International nuclear power organizations said scores of Russian and Chinese companies are working on the development of SMRs, whose types stand at about 70.

They include NewScale Power, TerraPower, X-Energy, Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi, RollsRoyce of UK, SNC-Lavalin of Canada, Framatome of France and Seaborg of Sweden.

There are many developers, but only a few, including Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, BWXT of the Unites States, Framatome, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI of Japan have capabilities to produce SMRs.

However, NewScale is the sole developer that has begun to produce prototypes. Newscale’s SMR producers are only two companies — Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and BWXT.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, with expertise of nuclear power equipment accumulated for about 40 years, is at the forefront of producing SMRs. If the global SMR market blossoms, the Korean company is predicted to land production orders.

 
In particular, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is trying to secure an upper hand in the upcoming SMR market as it forged a strategic partnership with NewScale by making a $44 million (50 billion won) equity investment in the latter in 2019.

Cited as strengths, there are no greenhouse gas emissions, its greater safety levels compared to conventional nuclear power units, and smaller power plant sites.

For instance, U.S. nuclear power regulation bodies evaluated that NewScale’s SMRs have probability of one-3,000th heavy accident rate vs. conventional nuclear power units.

Each SMR module is capable of generating 60MW. Modularization of 12 modules can adjust generation amounts from 60MW to 720MW.

SMRs can be played as base power grid suppliers to make up for drawbacks of renewable energies with erratic fluctuations. Given each Korean thermal power unit capable of producing 500MW, SMRs can replace coal-fired power plants on their current sites.

The SMR is the sole ultimate alternative option to produce green hydrogen, dubbed “the ultimate hydrogen.” Green hydrogen is a clean hydrogen, which spews no greenhouse gas emissions in the course of hydrogen production.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is venturing into the hydrogen business.

In a long-term perspective, the company aims to produce green hydrogen through the SMR’s power generation while trying to develop hydrogen gas turbine for hydrogen power generation. The SMR has synergetic effects with the hydrogen business.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Strikes Hydrogen Business MOU with KHNP

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction signed an MOU on the production of clean hydrogen and ramping up cooperation on energy convergence businesses with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) at the former’s company on May 12.

Among those on hand at the event were KHNP President Chung Jae-hoon, Kim Sang-dong, head of the Growth Business Division at KHNP, and President Chung Young-in of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.

The deal calls for hydrogen product using clean energies and the building of storage facilities and the development of operation technologies as well as collaboration in their joint R&Ds in hydrogen production using SMRs in Korea and abroad.