Nuclear power renaissance sparks mega deals for South Korea

The view of the Kozloduy nuclear power complex in Bulgaria. Hyundai Engineering and Construction has been tapped as the preferred bidder for a nuclear plant project in Bulgaria./Kozloduy nuclear power plant

“We are planning to double our workforce from 21 to 40-50 in June and July when the construction of Shin Hanul 3 and 4 reactors will be in full swing and nuclear power plant export contracts will be announced.”

Park Bong-kyu, chief executive of nuclear power equipment supplier Wonbidoo Technology, said that he was “looking forward to the June announcement of the Czech Republic’s Dukovany nuclear power plant bid” during a phone call with the Chosunilbo on Feb. 25. The company, based in Changwon, South Korea, makes components for nuclear power plants, including nuclear reactors and steam generators.

Wonbidoo has been struggling since the former Moon Jae-in administration’s nuclear phase-out policy halted construction of new power plants, with the company’s workforce falling to 14 employees in 2020.

As Korea’s nuclear industry makes a slow comeback after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration declared pro-nuclear policies in 2022, the company is also preparing for a turnaround. Wonbidoo recently increased its workforce to 21 and reduced rotational leaves from six to three. “We will have to move quickly from March to April to avoid losing talent to competing industries such as the semiconductor sector,” said Park.

Korea’s nuclear exports are gaining momentum after a 13-year-long hiatus through 2022, following the 2009 commission of four Barakah reactors in the United Arab Emirates. Global efforts to reach carbon neutrality goals and bolster energy security are fueling a revival in nuclear power and the official scrapping of the previous government’s nuclear phase-out policy. With over half a century of experience constructing nuclear power plants, starting with Gori Unit 1 in 1971, Korea’s nuclear power industry is gearing up to capitalize on this resurgence.

Starting with the $2.5 billion Egypt Eldaba Nuclear Power Plant project in August 2022, Korea’s nuclear industry has been signing multi-billion dollar nuclear export contracts every year. State-run energy company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) secured a 266 billion won deal to operate a tritium removal facility in Romania last June. In October last year, KHNP won a project worth 1 trillion won to refurbish an aging nuclear reactor in Romania’s Cernavoda power plant. Hyundai Engineering and Construction has been tapped as the preferred bidder for a nuclear plant project in Bulgaria. The total value of these projects adds up to approximately 14 trillion won.

Hyundai also signed a letter of intent to develop plans for Poland’s second nuclear power plant in Pątnów in October 2022. In June, the Czech government will select a preferred bidder to build a new reactor at the Dukovany nuclear power station. France’s EdF and Korea’s KHNP are competing for the spot after U.S. Westinghouse dropped out. “The recent rise in orders is proof of Korea’s expertise in building and operating nuclear power plants,” said Noh Baek-sik, vice chairman of the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum.

Once the construction of Korea’s Shin Hanul 3 and 4 reactors, previously paused by the last administration, begins this year and exports resume as planned, the domestic nuclear power sector is expected to bounce back after being pushed to the brink by the 5-year nuclear power phase-out. Korea’s nuclear industry also stands to benefit as Russia and China, leading players in the nuclear industry since 2010, are now facing sanctions by the U.S. following the Russia-Ukraine war.

Nuclear power equipment suppliers are eagerly expanding their workforces and related technologies as major nuclear power plant construction projects come to light. The Eldaba project in Egypt, secured by KHWP, received bids from equipment suppliers late last year and is currently undergoing technical assessment.

“Even if [bids for major nuclear power plant projects] don’t lead to immediate results, companies will ramp up investment if there is a continuous supply of work,” said KAIST professor Jung Yong-hoon.