Part of Larger Plan
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has set up a task force to bid for a facility improvement project at Romania’s Chernaboda Nuclear Power Plant No. 1.
KHNP established the task force on June 7 in order to take on a contract for the facility improvement project at Chernaboda Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Romania, according to sources in the energy industry and the government on June 19. The nuclear power plant is scheduled to stop generating power beginning in 2026. It will be refurbished for three to four years and then restart in 2030.
The Romanian nuclear power plant has a Canadian CANDU reactor. Canada-based AECL was responsible for its construction just like it was the Wolseong Power Plant in Korea. As a result, Korea’s experience in operating Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, including equipment improvements, can be applied to the Romanian nuclear power plant.
If KHNP wins this project, it will give the green light to other Romanian projects such as the construction of a tritium removal facility at the Chernaboda Nuclear Power Plant and new nuclear power plants in Romania. The Romanian government is promoting the construction and modernization of new nuclear power plants with a total investment of 11 trillion won (US$8.6 billion). Of this amount, 9 trillion won (US$7 billion) will be spent on the construction of two new nuclear power plants and about 2 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) on the modernization of Chernaboda Nuclear Power Plants 1 and 2.
A tritium removal facility separates tritium from heavy water and stores it in a safe form in a dedicated facility. Tritium is used as a moderator and a coolant in nuclear power plants. The amount of radioactive waste can be reduced through the operation of a tritium removal facility.
Globally, only Korea and Canada have commercially operated tritium removal facilities. Tritium emits beta rays, a type of radiation that can cause radiation exposure, but it is also used for industrial purposes, such as making fluorescent materials for watches and emergency exit signs.
The Romanian government plans to build two new nuclear reactors in the Cernaboda region. Initially, SNN, a partially state-owned Romanian nuclear energy company, had planned to build units 3 and 4 in a joint venture with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), but canceled the plan in 2020 in light of its strategic relationship with the United States.
Romania signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States to cooperate in the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs). In May of last year, the country signed an MOU with U.S. SMR company NuScale Power and selected the site of an existing thermal power plant in Doicești as the site for its first SMR.
Currently, NuScale Power, Doosan Enerbility, Samsung C&T, and GS Energy are strategic partners and may jointly participate in SMR projects in Romania. On June 13 (local time), Samsung C&T signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SNN to jointly promote the construction of a 462-megawatt SMR.
The Yoon Suk-yeol administration in Korea, which aims to export 10 nuclear power plants by 2030, is also actively supporting the export of nuclear power plants to Romania. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo asked Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă to actively consider allowing Korea’s participation in the improvement of Romania’s nuclear power plant facilities and the construction of new nuclear power plants after meeting with him in Romania on June 10 during his four-nation European tour.
A delegation that included Romanian Economy Minister Marian Spataru and Romanian Energy Minister Virgil-Daniel Popescu visited Korea in December last year and held a meeting with Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang. During the meeting, Lee emphasized, “Korea is an optimal partner for nuclear power plants with triple competitiveness in price, quality and delivery.”