Authorities officers have reversed the nation’s deliberate phase-out of nuclear energy and are actually making commitments to deploy home reactor know-how throughout the nation and overseas.
South Korean officers have mentioned nuclear energy is essential to supplying electrical energy for the nation’s future power demand. Officers in July of this 12 months, at a gathering of South Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Power (MOTIE), mentioned, “current mid- to long-term modifications in energy provide and demand circumstances” spotlight the necessity for extra nuclear energy and renewable power technology. The company famous energy demand is growing throughout a number of sectors, together with for charging electrical automobiles, supplying electrical energy for information facilities, and to spur extra funding in high-tech industries together with semiconductor and battery manufacturing—each main sectors in South Korea.
Officers with the MOTIE committee mentioned South Korea’s tenth Electrical energy Plan, also referred to as the Primary Plan for Lengthy-term Electrical energy Provide and Demand (BPLE), was right in concentrating on a “renewable power provide aim and restoring the position of nuclear energy vegetation within the energy combine.” The plan covers the interval of 2022 to 2036. The committee additionally mentioned, “As electrical energy demand is anticipated to extend quickly on account of electrification of trade and life and funding in hi-tech industries, it’s essential to evaluate a brand new energy combine plan together with new nuclear energy vegetation.”
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1. A bunch excursions the Shin Hanul nuclear energy plant in South Korea in December 2022, simply after Unit 1 on the facility got here on-line. Courtesy: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Energy |
The plan for nuclear energy is continuing in earnest. The nation’s latest working reactor is Unit 1 at Shin Hanul, which entered business operation in December 2022 (Determine 1). Unit 2 on the website is anticipated to come back on-line early in 2024; gasoline loading for that unit was completed in September of this 12 months. Each models characteristic APR-1400 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) principally designed by Korea Engineering Co.
“The APR-1400 reactor know-how is central to South Korea’s nuclear ambitions,” mentioned Seth Grae, CEO of Virginia-based Lightbridge Corp., a nuclear gasoline know-how improvement firm. “It’s the primary know-how to new nuclear energy vegetation in South Korea and for bids to deploy in different international locations.”
In response to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Energy (KHNP), which operates the nuclear plant, Models 1 and a pair of at Shin Hanul are the primary in South Korea the place all the important thing tools—together with the reactor know-how—was produced domestically. KHNP mentioned Shin Hanul 1 is the nation’s first reactor to attain what it known as “technological independence … by localization of core services, such because the reactor coolant pump and the plant instrumentation and management system.”
Industrial operation of Shin Hanul 1 additionally marked a milestone for South Korea’s new power technique, reversing a previous plan to maneuver away from nuclear energy. That’s amongst a number of causes Shin Hanul is receiving a POWER Prime Plant award, as South Korea seeks to play a bigger position within the world nuclear energy trade.
Increasing Nuclear Energy
South Korea has been increasing its nuclear energy program after President Yoon Suk Yeol took workplace in Could of final 12 months. Yoon rapidly reversed former President Moon Jae-in’s coverage of phasing out nuclear energy. Moon’s administration, listening to issues about nuclear energy after the Fukushima incident in Japan in 2011, and amid a scandal over cast paperwork associated to exams and inspections of the nation’s reactor fleet, mentioned South Korea would scale back its nuclear energy technology capability.
Among the many first actions of Yoon’s new authorities was a restart of building on Models 3 and 4 at Shin Hanul; work on these models had been suspended in 2017 by Moon’s administration. Yoon in July of final 12 months mentioned he would encourage a fast revival of what he known as South Korea’s “nuclear energy plant ecosystem.”
The nation’s tenth Electrical Plan, revealed earlier this 12 months, outlined how nuclear power’s share of South Korea’s technology combine would enhance to almost 35% throughout the subsequent decade. That would come with continued operation of 12 older reactors, together with 4 new models at Shin Hanul, and two new models at Shin Kori (now known as Saeul). Knowledge confirmed nuclear energy producing capability would enhance from 24.7 GW in 2022, to twenty-eight.9 GW in 2030, and to 31.7 GW in 2036.
The plan additionally mentioned South Korea ought to export its nuclear know-how for at the very least 10 new reactors by 2030, and known as for improvement of small modular reactors. Korea Electrical Energy Corp. (KEPCO) earlier this 12 months submitted a proposal to Turkey to be a part of a venture to construct 4 APR-1400 nuclear reactors in that nation. These are necessary steps for South Korea’s recommitment to nuclear energy, however what does it imply for the nation in terms of the worldwide nuclear energy market?
“We don’t know for sure,” mentioned Grae, who informed POWER that “previous to invading Ukraine in 2022, Russia was within the lead place to win many nuclear energy plant deployments.” Grae famous that Finland, Slovakia, and Jordan have now dropped plans to maneuver forward with Russian reactors, and mentioned that “different international locations that had not but began a procurement course of may depart Russia out.”
Grae added, “China’s aggressive actions are making its corporations much less prone to be reactor distributors to some international locations in east Asia which might be concerned with nuclear energy, together with the Philippines and maybe Vietnam. Russia and China receding a bit from prominence as reactor distributors opens alternatives for rivals, together with from South Korea.” Grae mentioned France, lengthy a pacesetter in nuclear know-how, is experiencing price overruns and schedule delays in deploying its EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactor) know-how within the UK, which might hamper its future plans for nuclear energy.
“South Korea additionally advantages from profitable deployment of reactors within the United Arab Emirates [UAE],” mentioned Grae. “With the fourth unit there [at Barakah] scheduled to open within the first quarter of 2024, there are corporations and people from South Korea who’ve labored on that venture and on tasks in South Korea who can efficiently do the advanced massive welding, electrical work, concrete pours, and so on. that haven’t all the time been completed proper by different corporations and resulted in schedule delays and price overruns.”
Reactor Evolution
The APR-1400 is an evolutionary PWR and Technology III reactor, with origins within the Combustion Engineering (CE) System 80+ mannequin that was first developed 30 years in the past by incorporating enhancements into the System 80 design already in operation on the Palo Verde Nuclear Producing Station in Arizona. The APR-1400 produces 1,400 MWe, and has a 60-year design life. It supersedes the standardized 995-MWe OPR-1000 design, a Technology II reactor designed by KHNP and KEPCO.
The APR-1400 was first deployed for Models 3 and 4 on the renamed Saeul website in South Korea, with Unit 3 getting into business operation in 2016 and Unit 4 coming on-line in 2019. As Grae famous, the Barakah nuclear energy plant within the UAE additionally options the APR-1400, with three of 4 models at that website now in operation. Barakah acquired a POWER Prime Plant award in 2021.
The Shin Hanul Unit 1 APR-1400 PWR reached first criticality on Could 22 of final 12 months, in line with KHNP, a decade after building started. Groundbreaking for Unit 1 and Unit 2 on the Shin Hanul website occurred in Could 2012. First concrete for Unit 1 was poured in July 2012; foundations for Unit 2 adopted in June 2013.
A number of delays throughout building of each Models 1 and a pair of prolonged the timeline to carry the reactors on-line. The preliminary schedule known as for Unit 1 to enter service in April 2017, with Unit 2 following a 12 months later. Among the delays have been on account of quite a few security checks by the nation’s Nuclear Security and Safety Committee. Others have been on account of inflexible testing by KHNP.
Alongside the way in which, different teams supported deployment of the APR-1400. European Utility Necessities, a technical advisory group for European utilities on nuclear energy vegetation, in October 2017 accepted the reactor design. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Fee licensed the APR-1400 in August 2019, discovering the design absolutely meets U.S. security necessities.
KHNP and Doosan Enerbility in March of this 12 months signed a $2.2 billion provide contract for the primary tools for Shin Hanul Models 3 and 4. Doosan Enerbility will provide the nuclear reactors, steam mills, and turbine mills for the 2 APR-1400 reactors. Shin Hanul Unit 3 is scheduled to be accomplished by 2032, and Unit 4 by 2033.
As well as, KEPCO earlier this 12 months submitted a proposal to Turkey to be a part of a venture to construct 4 APR-1400 nuclear reactors in that nation. Grae famous that bringing Shin Hanul Unit 1 on-line, and with a number of different tasks transferring ahead, South Korea has a chance to showcase its nuclear know-how on the world stage.
“A aggressive benefit to South Korea is potential prospects can really feel assured about prices and timeframes, by coping with Korean corporations and people inside these corporations who’re efficiently deploying an APR-1400 within the UAE proper now and have just lately deployed a number of extra APR-1400 models,” he mentioned.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
