Korean firm to build EUR 16bn Czech nuclear plant

South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) will lead Czechia’s largest-ever investment project when the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) country expands its nuclear power plant in Dukovany, south Czechia, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Friday 20 September.

A central part of Czechia’s long-term energy strategy, the construction of two new reactors at Dukovany has an estimated cost of CZK 400bn (EUR 15.94bn) and is expected to be completed by 2036.

UK company Rolls-Royce will meanwhile develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in partnership with Czech state utility company CEZ, Fiala said. The Czech government has approved a strategic partnership with Rolls-Royce to develop SMRs, which are not only more affordable than high-power reactors but also carry a lower serious accident risk.

Fiala said while the Czech state does not plan to purchase SMRs directly, it will empower local companies to develop and produce them. CEZ plans to deploy up to 10 SMRs by 2050, with the first of these possibly in Temelin as early as the 2030s.

Korea, Czechia cement nuclear cooperation

Fiala was speaking during an official visit to Czechia by South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol accompanied by a business delegation looking to strengthen cooperation in new technologies, transportation and industry.

In July, the Czech government decided on a Korean consortium comprised of KHNP, Doosan Enerbility and Daewoo Engineering & Construction as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany.

CEZ is currently finalising an agreement with KHNP and discussing the potential construction of additional reactors at the nuclear power plant in Temelin, south-west Czechia. The plants in Dukovany and Temelin combined meet around 30% of Czechia’s electricity usage.

The deal is not yet entirely out of the woods. US firm Westinghouse, which unsuccessfully bid for the Dukovany contract, has gone to the Czech Competition Office over KHNP’s licensing for the proposed technology. French company Electricity de France (EDF), which also bid, has also lodged complaints with the Office.

For his part, Yoon said there may still be room for cooperation between KHNP and Westinghouse, as there was with the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

Extensive bilateral collaboration in other areas

The countries signed a total of 56 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and other deals during Yoon’s four-day trip to strengthen their bilateral strategic partnership and lay a foundation for comprensive nuclear collaboration. The two sides sealed a total of 13 MOUs related to the nuclear power plant ecosystem, including reactor design and operation, nuclear fuel and waste management.

The two countries’ foreign ministries adopted an action plan for the implementation of the strategic partnership from 2025-27 on high-speed trains, advanced manufacturing, supply chains, carbon-free energy, civil nuclear energy, batteries, semiconductors, future vehicles and robots. A joint statement expressed intent to cooperate in trade and investment, ICT, technology and innovation, science, cyber security, infrastructure, tourism, culture and sports.

“I hope that Korea and Czechia, as strategic partners, will be reborn as a nuclear energy alliance that looks forward to the next 100 years together,” Yoon said at a joint news conference with Fiala. He added that the Korean government plans to invest around USD 37mn (EUR 33.15mn) over the next decade in research and development in nuclear fuel technology, synthetic pharmaceuticals and artificial intelligence.