KHNP and Thailand's EGAT to explore SMR options
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for cooperation on small modular reactors and exploring their feasibility for future projects.
The agreement will see the two companies exchange SMR-related technical information, hold a joint review of options for introducing a small modular reactor (SMR) in Thailand and cooperate on training personnel through on-site tours and staff and technology exchanges in the nuclear energy field.
Thidade Eiamsai, Deputy Governor Power Plant Development and Renewable Energy of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), said the country's Power Development Plan highlights the need to diversify energy sources and increase the share of clean energy. He said the MOU was "an important step towards Thailand’s clean energy future and also plays a part in achieving both EGAT’s and Thailand’s goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2050".
He said the focus would be on the study of SMRs "which are well-suited to Thailand’s energy landscape".
Park Insik, head of the Export Business Division for KHNP, said: "This agreement is an important starting point for sharing KHNP's technological prowess as Thailand’s energy transition partner ... we will continue to work closely with EGAT to create a sustainable energy future for Thailand, while also actively entering the SMR market in the ASEAN region, including Thailand, and establishing a cooperation model that contributes to the global energy transition."
Thailand and South Korea signed a Cooperation Agreement on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy in March this year which established a framework for collaboration and nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries. Among the nuclear-related projects being considered in Thailand is one involving the Danish molten salt reactor floating power plant developer Saltfoss Energy (formerly Seaborg), which has agreements with South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries and KHNP for potential manufacturing and operation. A joint feasibility study has been taking place with Thailand's Global Power Synergy Public Company Limited.
Thailand does not currently have nuclear energy among its energy mix, although there have been various initiatives over the years to explore options, and it has had an operating research reactor since 1977. South Korea's 26 operable nuclear power reactors provide about a third of the country's electricity and it is one of the world's most prominent nuclear energy countries, and in recent years has had an increasing focus on exports.
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