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South Korea preferred for Czech expansion


provides for a fixed date for the start and completion of construction, and it is important for us that the selected contractor commits to it under the threat of sanctions. The offer of the preferred bidder was more satisfactory in this respect.” Czech Minister of Industry & Trade, Jozef


Above: Temelin has been earmarked as the site for two new reactors in the Czech Republic as part of a four reactor deal


A South Korean consortium led by the state- run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has been selected as the preferred bidder for the construction of up to four nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. The other contender was France’s EDF. US-based Westinghouse Electric had been excluded from the tender in January, because it “did not meet the necessary conditions”. In June Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), a


wholly-owned subsidiary of Czech state-owned power company ČEZ, submitted its evaluation of offers from the interested companies for construction of up to four nuclear units at the Dukovany and Temelín NPPs, proposing its preferred supplier. In January, the government had amended the tender to binding offers for up to four reactors, rather than just one as specified in the original tender. EDF offered its EPR1200 reactor and KHNP its APR1000. Westinghouse had offered its AP1000. ČEZ’s New Energy Division head, Tomáš


Pleskač, noted: “All price inputs and risks have been quantified. Both offers were compared according to the same criterion, namely to the price per one megawatt hour generated, at which each contender’s new unit would generate electricity.” The Czech authorities intend to finalise the


contract for the two Dukovany units by March 2025. Elektrárna Dukovany II plans to begin construction of the first unit at Dukovany in 2029, with the commissioning slated for 2036. The South Korean consortium comprises


KHNP, Doosan Enerbility and Daewoo Engineering & Construction, as well as affiliates of the state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) including Kepco Engineering & Construction. The consortium is expected to negotiate further with ČEZ before signing a formal deal to build the first two 1,000 MWe units. The construction cost of the two units is estimated at KRW24,000bn ($17.4bn). The consortium also has the exclusive right to a contract for two more units at the Temelin NPP. ČEZ CEO and Chairman Daniel Beneš, noted: “We have a clearly defined schedule, which


Síkela, said “it is clear that the preferred bidder offered a better price and more reliable guarantees of cost control, as well as the schedule of the entire project’. Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a news conference that: “Our goal was to come up with a solution that would be economically rational and ensure enough energy at an acceptable price. The offer of the Korean company KHNP meets these parameters. At the same time, it will bring a significant impetus to the development of the Czech economy thanks to the involvement of Czech industry to the extent of approximately 60%.” This will be South Korea’s biggest NPP deal


since its first export order in 2009 when it won the contract to build four APR-1400 reactor units in the United Arab Emirates. However, Westinghouse is threatening


continued legal action in the wake of the Czech announcement. “Westinghouse reserves its rights to challenge this in front of the relevant national and international jurisdictions,” it said in a statement, reaffirming its view that “KHNP is not authorised to use Westinghouse reactor technology... without Westinghouse’s agreement”. It said KHNP had failed to comply with US export control rules, which require “authorisation from the US government before sharing technology beyond the agreed to Korea transfer”.


This is an extension of the ongoing legal


battle between the two companies. In October 2022 Westinghouse alleged that Korea’s APR1400 reactors copied the System 80 reactor designed by Combustion Engineering, which was acquired by Westinghouse in 2000. The litigation was a move by Westinghouse to stop the Korean companies from selling reactors to Poland. Although Westinghouse won that tender, Korea subsequently signed an agreement with private Polish companies ZE PAK and PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) to supply its APR1400 reactors at another site. Korea, on the other hand, claimed that while


early development of its reactor technology was supported by Westinghouse, the current models it is seeking to export were developed using its own technologies and are not subject to US restrictions. KHNP says the company has developed original reactor technology over the past 30 years and now owns the intellectual property rights to its nuclear power plant technology. ■


round up


NEW BUILD SOME 70% OF the equipment and systems installed at unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Türkiye have already undergone commissioning, according to Denis Sesemin, Director for Construction & Production at project company Akkuyu Nukleer. “We are preparing for testing and already have a test programme”, he added.


A CORE LOCALISATION device or melt trap for unit 3 of Egypt’s El Dabaa NPP has been delivered to the site, according to Rosatom’s engineering division. The ship with the components of the melt trap left the port of Novorossiysk in late June and it was delivered six days later. The total weight of the melt trap is about 150 tonnes.


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the planned construction of units 3&4 at Romania’s Cernavoda NPP. Unit 3 is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2030 and unit 4 in 2031. Under the Euratom Treaty, nuclear project developers must notify the EC of any planned investments.


WORK IS 2.5 months ahead of schedule at the construction site of Russia’s Leningrad NPP unit 7. Workers will now begin to reinforce and concrete the upper part of the foundation of the reactor building and pipelines will be laid. The foundation will be ready in the autumn after which construction of the internal containment of the reactor building will begin.


UPGRADES KOREA ATOMIC ENERGY Research Institute (KAERI) said work to commission the upgraded instrumentation and control (I&C) system of the Bangladesh Training Research Reactor has been completed. KAERI said the project marks the first bilateral cooperation in the nuclear industry between the two countries.


JAPAN’S KANSAI ELECTRIC Power Company has been given prior consent by Fukui Prefecture and Takahama Town to replace the steam generators at units 3&4 of the Takaham NPP and to apply for replacement of the reactor internals at units 1&2. In May the ageing reactors at units 3&4 were approved to continue operating for 20 more years by regulator.


THE TU DELFT Reactor Institute in the Netherlands has relaunched its research reactor after a series of upgrades. These include the commissioning of a cold neutron source and the improved instruments. The first results of research are expected in October 2024, in line with the official reopening of the reactor.


www.neimagazine.com | August 2024 | 7


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