Westinghouse reaches agreement on IP with Korean companies

Friday, 17 January 2025

Westinghouse filed a case in October 2022 with the District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to prevent Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and its parent company Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) from exporting the APR1400 reactor design without its permission. The suit claimed that the APR1400 design includes intellectual property licensed by Westinghouse and requires its permission before being transferred for use in other countries.

In response, KHNP filed countersuits calling for Westinghouse to withdraw the case. It claimed that the US Atomic Energy Act grants authority to enforce the law exclusively to the US Attorney General and not to entities as a means of claiming rights through litigation.

In September 2023, the District Court for the District of Columbia accepted KHNP's argument and dismissed the case. However, a final ruling by the arbitration panel is not expected until late 2025.

Westinghouse has now announced a global settlement agreement with KEPCO and KHNP to resolve their intellectual property dispute. While details regarding the terms of the settlement remain confidential, Westinghouse said it "will work with KEPCO and KHNP to dismiss all current legal actions".

"This agreement allows both parties to move forward with certainty in the pursuit and deployment of new nuclear reactors. The agreement also sets the stage for future cooperation between the parties to advance new nuclear projects globally," Westinghouse said.

"Westinghouse is pleased to reach an agreement with KEPCO and KHNP on this important issue," said Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman. "As the world demands more firm baseload power, we look forward to opportunities for cooperation to deploy nuclear power at even greater scale."

"The two sides restored their traditional 50-year ties through this agreement," said KEPCO CEO Kim Dong-cheol. "Based on this, KEPCO can now take part in securing overseas nuclear power plant contracts more actively as the settlement resolves uncertainties due to legal conflicts."

KHNP President Hwang Joo-ho added: "This agreement will serve as an opportunity to build a closer cooperative relationship between KHNP and Westinghouse."

Canada's Cameco, one of world's largest providers of nuclear fuel, acquired Westinghouse in 2023 in a strategic partnership with Brookfield Asset Management and its affiliate Brookfield Renewable Partners and institutional partners.

"This is a positive outcome for both parties, which we believe facilitates bringing world-leading reactor technology and related competencies in engineering, construction services, maintenance, fuel supply, and training to the global market," said Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel.

"With more than 30 countries and over 100 companies pledging to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, the demand for nuclear power is undeniable. This agreement strengthens the industry's ability to provide carbon-free, reliable, dispatchable baseload electricity to help achieve climate, energy and national security objectives."

The agreement comes days after the USA and South Korea signed an agreement covering exports of nuclear technology. The Memorandum of Understanding on Principles Concerning Nuclear Exports and Cooperation finalised a provisional understanding reached in November. 

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm welcomed the agreement between Westinghouse, KEPCO and KHNP, saying it "marks an exceptional accomplishment which could pave the way for hundreds of billions of dollars in cooperative projects moving forward while creating and maintaining hundreds of thousands of jobs in the civil nuclear sector.

"US and Republic of Korea cooperation on civil nuclear energy can offer a highly competitive alternative on the global marketplace while upholding the highest non-proliferation standards. This commercial agreement, along with our signing last week of a government-to-government MoU on Principles Concerning Nuclear Exports and Cooperation, will promote civil nuclear energy cooperation as an exceptionally strong and enduring component of US–Republic of Korea relations."

In August 2024, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power was selected by the Czech government as its preferred bidder to build up to four new nuclear power units in the country. South Korea's APR1000 nuclear power plant is based on original technology from Westinghouse.