SMART Export
Minister of Science, ICT & Future Planning Choi Yang-hee said on March 9 that President Park Geun-hye’s recent visit to the Middle East will bring more opportunities for exporting the system-integrated modular advanced reactor (SMART) that Korea has developed. “We signed an MOU with Saudi Arabia a week ago to develop and design SMARTs in cooperation with each other, build two atomic power stations in Saudi Arabia and export the reactor to third countries in the long term,” he explained.
The SMART is a small-scale nuclear power plant with a capacity of 100 MWe, equivalent to approximately one-tenth of a full-scale commercial atomic power station. It is characterized by having main system components in a single container without any piping, thus being free from any piping accidents. In addition, it is capable of supplying heat for seawater desalination, district heating, and industrial purposes, and can be built at a low cost and within a short period of time, for about 1 trillion won (US$890 million) and three years, to be specific.
“Small-scale reactors are a perfect choice for the Middle East, where the cities are at a distance from each other,” the Minister continued, adding, “The SMART, which is much safer and more economical than thermal power generation, will enjoy high demand in the region.” He also mentioned, “Furthermore, the reactor will make inroads into various overseas markets with 90 percent of nuclear power plants around the world being small ones, and many of them to be superannuated within years or a few decades.”