Czech project win boosts nuclear plant export ambition

South Korea received a big boost to its ambition of being a major nuclear power plant exporter in July when it secured a nuclear reactor construction project in the Czech Republic valued at approximately 24 trillion won (S$23 billion).

- Wendy Teo

The triumph of the state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) over its competitor in France on European turf was like a "battle between David and Goliath" that marked South Korea's emergence as a "major global player in the nuclear energy sector", said the country's Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun in an interview after the successful bid.

He hailed the success as a "bridgehead" for Seoul to export nuclear power plants to Europe, which is seeing a nuclear renaissance in recent years, as it seeks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and strengthen energy security.

KHNP is conducting a feasibility study for a nuclear plant in the Netherlands while also in talks for potential projects in Finland, Slovenia, Sweden and Britain.

Apart from riding on the global push for cleaner energy, analysts say South Korea is poised to take advantage of the current geopolitical situation to make headway as a major nuclear power plant exporter.

Besides decades spent on technology developments, a contributing factor to its nuclear business would also be good timing, said Professor Jerng Dong-wook of the Energy Systems Engineering School at Seoul's Chung-Ang University.

"Russia is the No. 1 country in the nuclear export market. But these days, because of the Ukraine invasion, Russia is being shunned, especially in the Western world, so that actually gives South Korea a good window of opportunity.

"If we had to compete with Russia, it would be a very hard game," he told The Straits Times.

He added that China is too busy building nuclear plants to meet its domestic demands, while the infrastructure of the US and France are too dated, which diminishes their competitive advantage over South Korea.