The company intends to export technologies for the creation of small modular reactors.
Hyundai Engineering is considering the possibility of building small nuclear reactors in Uzbekistan, Yonhap agency reports.
The company has agreed with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to cooperate in the export of technologies used in small reactors. The company noted their better efficiency in relation to costs in comparison with traditional nuclear power plants.
According to the memorandum, KAERI will be responsible for developing designs for future reactors and licensing them. Hyundai will handle business planning, financing, engineering and construction work.
We are talking about advanced modular reactors based on integrated systems (SMART), which KAERI has been developing since 1997. Cooling systems use high pressure water.
This model can produce up to 110 MW of energy, while being one-tenth the size of conventional reactors. Moreover, due to their compactness, SMART reactors can be built in remote and mountainous areas.
According to the agency, in 2021, Hyundai Engineering entered into an agreement to build a small reactor in the Canadian province of Alberta. A feasibility study for the project is currently being prepared.
“Following our project in Canada, where we mark the transition of power generation to small modular reactors, we are considering expanding operations to Uzbekistan, the United States and India,” a company spokesman told Yonhap.
In January 2022, Rosatom and the Ministry of Energy of Kyrgyzstan signed a memorandum on the construction of small nuclear power plants. Russia also plans to assist the republic in the development of nuclear infrastructure and training of qualified personnel.
