Lim Seung-cheol, secretary general of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), speaks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the NSSC headquarters in central Seoul on Oct. 22, 2024, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
South Korea’s nuclear safety agency will work to “swiftly” devise safety regulations for small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2026, its secretary general said, a move aimed at supporting the country’s nuclear power industry and boosting its exports.
The remarks by Lim Seung-cheol, secretary general of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), come after a South Korean consortium, led by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, was named the preferred bidder for the Czech Republic’s nuclear power plant project, which, if signed, would mark South Korea’s second export of nuclear reactors.
Lim argued one of the reasons the South Korean consortium was named the preferred bidder was its detailed plan to apply for standard design approval by the NSSC for its new APR-1000 reactors to be built in the Czech Republic should it be named the winner of the project, estimated to be worth 24 trillion won (US$17.3 billion).
The APR-1000 is a brand new model based on the country’s existing APR-1400 design, and the Czech nuclear safety authorities were interested in the NSSC’s plan to review the safety of the design, he explained, adding that the state-run nuclear power company is expected to apply for standard design approval of the APR-1000 later this year.
“The biggest strength of the South Korean nuclear power industry is its capability to fully build nuclear reactors on time and on budget with homegrown technologies,” Lim said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.
“And with the abundant experience of the regulation agency, South Korea will be able to become one of the world’s most competitive nations in the field.”
To further support the local nuclear power industry and its exports, the NSSC now seeks to come up with safety regulations for the innovative-SMR, or i-SMR, in 2026, which would enable standard design approval of the new SMR model as early as 2028 and its commercialization by 2035, according to Lim.
“The nuclear safety agency and the nuclear power industry are like left foot and right foot,” Lim said. “In order for the nuclear power ecosystem to thrive, the left foot and right foot have to move in harmony, with mutual respect.”
SMRs, advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 Megawatts per unit, have been under the spotlight globally in recent years amid growing demand for electricity sparked by the artificial intelligence boom and demand for non-fossil fuel energy to tackle climate change.
To this end, the NSSC launched a regulatory research management agency for SMRs earlier this year to better devise the regulation system for the i-SMR and light water SMRs, while the government created a special team for the technology development in 2023.
The agency has also been participating in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s initiative to develop a global framework for regulatory reviews of advanced reactors to accelerate the deployment of SMRs through standardization.
“Though the nuclear safety agency of each nation will have to review the safety of SMRs, the international initiative will help make the process more efficient by facilitating communication between different agencies,” Lim said.
Lim Seung-cheol, secretary general of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), speaks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the NSSC headquarters in central Seoul on Oct. 22, 2024, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Meanwhile, Lim also called for a consistent energy policy to support the nuclear power industry and allow the creation of a “swift” and “effective” regulation system.
“Nuclear energy is not a replacement for renewable energy, but rather a complementary partner,” he said.
Source: Yonhap
