KHNP pulls out of Dutch reactor project

Wednesday, 19 March 2025

In December 2021, the Netherlands' new coalition government placed nuclear power at the heart of its climate and energy policy. Based on preliminary plans, two new reactors will be completed around 2035 and each will have a capacity of 1000-1650 MWe. The two reactors would provide 9-13% of the Netherlands' electricity production in 2035. The cabinet announced in December 2022 that it currently sees Borssele as the most suitable location for the construction of the new reactors.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) was contracted in December 2023 to conduct a feasibility study into the construction of two Korean-supplied reactors at Borssele. The contract came as the South Korean and Dutch governments signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on nuclear energy.

Similar contracts for feasibility studies were also signed with EDF of France and Westinghouse of the USA.

The studies were to consider whether their respective reactor designs comply with Dutch legislation and regulations, whether it can be fitted into the preferred location at Borssele, and to develop a more detailed estimate of the costs and time required to build the two new units. The possible impact on the environment was also highlighted in the studies. In November, Amentum of the USA was selected to review and advise on the studies submitted by the three potential reactor vendors.

"The studies have now been completed, final discussions have been held and the contracts have been concluded," Sophie Hermans, Minister of Climate and Green Growth told the Dutch House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, in a 17 March letter.

"During this discussion, KHNP unfortunately indicated that it had to take the decision not to be able to take on the role of technology supplier for the construction of new power stations in the Netherlands," Hermans said. "KHNP indicates that this is based on its own strategic considerations that fall outside the conditions and character of the Dutch project. This decision follows recent similar decisions by KHNP in other European countries, such as Sweden and Slovenia."

The ministers noted that KHNP's decision "has no consequences for the preparation of the competitive tender ... the preparations for the construction of the nuclear power plants will therefore continue expeditiously". She added that Westinghouse and EDF "have indicated that they would like to continue active and intensive discussions about the way in which their technology can be integrated in the Netherlands, both technically and economically".

Hermans said the government will inform the House of Representatives about the results of the technical feasibility studies and their third party reviews in a letter at the beginning of May. "In this letter, the government will also discuss the other work tracks of the new construction process, including financing, the project procedure and governance," she said. "In this letter, the government will finally provide an explanation of the design of the process to arrive at technology selection."

Last year Westinghouse, EDF and KHNP were the three bidders for new nuclear in the Czech Republic. KHNP was the winning bidder and an EPC contract is expected to be signed by the end of this month, despite EDF and Westinghouse appealing against the decision. Since then it has been announced that Westinghouse and KHNP and Korea Electric Power Cooperation have reached agreement on intellectual property issues - the subject of court cases in the USA - and while details regarding the terms of the settlement remain confidential the companies said "the agreement also sets the stage for future cooperation between the parties to advance new nuclear projects globally".