KHNP Ushering in ‘Era of Clean Hydrogen’ Where Nuclear Power is Compatible with Renewal Energies

President Chung Jae-hoon of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). (Photos: KHNP)

In his New Year’s message, President Chung Jae-hoon of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) called for ushering in an era of “clean hydrogen,” in which renewable energies go hand-in-hand with nuclear power by securing technology competitiveness in hydrogen and core capabilities.

Looking at last year, President Chung said, KHNP concentrated its capabilities to ensure the safe operation of nuclear power units. KHNP laid a foundation for sustainable growth by establishing an ESG management regime and implemented hydrogen convergence projects and an innovative small modular reactor (SMR) project.

The power company built hydro growth infrastructure, expanding the renewable energy business and secured a foothold to yield fruits in overseas businesses in Egypt and the Czech Republic.

President Chung said, “This year is expected to see great national and social changes, and as the global energy situation is changing fast, we no longer hesitate.”

He proposed five tasks to become a leading company in the energy industry.

First, President Chung called for spearheading the carbon neutrality economy through safe management.

“If we achieve the challenging goal of raising the nuclear power utilization rate to 82.3 percent, it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 10 million tons compared to last year,” he said.

Chances are high that the pending issue will be solved, since the number of nuclear power units undergoing planned predictive maintenance is expected to decline.

Second, he said KHNP will demonstrate leadership in new businesses and hydrogen industry. Mega trends of the global energy industry can be summed up: decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization.

The energy source, suiting the trends most is small modular reactor (SMR). KHNP has to accelerate the development of core technologies and standard designs to challenge the global SMR market in 2030.

KHNP has to devote itself to ushering in an era of “clean hydrogen” in which renewable energies go hand-in-hand with nuclear power by securing technology competitiveness in the whole cycle of hydrogen and its core capabilities.

Third, he said, KHNP should spearhead the utilization of its own resources and green energy.

Fourth, KHNP needs to lead overseas businesses. The power company should expand to new markets by winning orders such as Egypt’s El-Dabaa nuclear power plant and Romania’s tritium removal facility (TRF) projects.

The power company needs to employ differentiation strategies to win the Czech project and build collaboration foundation in the Polish project.

KNHP should enter overseas renewable energy markets like the U.S. wind power market and the Chilean photovoltaic power market.

The power company needs to bear fruits in the Pakistani and Indonesian hydroelectric businesses.

Last, he called for spearheading meaningful ESG management.

A map of the site of Egypt’s El-Dabaa nuclear power units.

KHNP Selected as Sole Preferred Bidder for Egypt’s El-Dabaa NPP

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. was designated as a sole preferred bidder of secondary construct projects, including “turbine islands” for Egypt’s El-Dabaa nuclear power units, which are being built by Russia’s JSC ASE.

Both sides are expected to strike a contract by the end of April after completing negotiations on price and conditions of terms and obtaining an approval from each board by the end of February.

The schedule may change according to outcomes of the negotiations and conditions of the business, a KHNP official said.

If KHNP lands the secondary construction projects, Korean nuclear power contractors as well as nuclear power equipment and material suppliers are expected to join, thus injecting a vigor in the Korean nuclear power industry.

The Korean nuclear power industry, based on experiences and execution of the Barakah NPP in the UAE, is expected to collaborate with local companies for the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant.

JSC ASE, a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear power company, won the El-Dabaa NPP project from the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) in 2017.

The project calls for building four 1200MW VVER-1200 nuclear power units. The commercial operation of the first unit is scheduled for 2028.