Doosan Enerbility announced on April 26th that it had signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU) with the US company NuScale Power and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) to cooperate on the areas of technical, financial support and global supply chain development.
In attendance at the MOU signing ceremony held on April 25th at the “Korea-US Advanced Industry & Clean Energy Partnership” event in Washington D.C. were Doosan Enerbility Chairman & CEO Geewon Park, NuScale Power President & CEO John Hopkins and KEXIM Chairman & President Hee-Sung Yoon, among others.
NuScale Power’s SMR model was the first in the world to receive the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s design certification, showing that NuScale is recognized as the forerunner of SMR technology and its commercialization. By entering into an equity investment agreement with NuScale in 2019, Doosan became the first Korean company to forge a partnership with the US company. An equity investment totaling USD 104 million has been made to date by Doosan together with a group of Korean financial investors.
With the signing of the recent MOU, the three companies have agreed to closely cooperate on the areas of technical support, marketing, local supply chain development and export financing to promote SMR deployment across the globe. Doosan Enerbility plans to upgrade its manufacturing technology and build up its production capacity, while KEXIM will be providing financial support to facilitate the global business expansion of NuScale’s SMRs. NuScale Power will be making active use of Korea’s supply chains in its SMR construction process.
At the event that day where a total of 23 MOUs for Korea-US advanced industry and clean energy cooperation were signed, Doosan Enerbility’s CEO Geewon Park took the stage as one of the keynote speakers, having been chosen as the lead speaker for Korea’s energy companies. Other keynote speakers included the leaders of six US firms which included Centrus Energy, ExxonMobil and TerraPower.
“As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korean alliance this year, I believe this event will greatly contribute to further expanding our alliance beyond national security to the areas of advanced technology and clean energy,” remarked Geewon Park, CEO of Doosan Enerbility. “We expect that the growth of SMR technology in the global market will help with securing a safe energy solution and also contribute to sustainable economic development.”
“Today’s news underscores how our SMRs fill a unique global need: providing flexible, reliable and carbon-free energy while driving economic activity in manufacturing and supply chain development. With our Korean partners and their technical expertise, we are well-positioned to meet this ambitious goal,” said John Hopkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of NuScale Power. “The momentum towards creating a domestic and global supply chain to deploy our SMR technology is accelerating.”
KEXIM’s Chairman and President Hee-Sung Yoon remarked, “Through the signing of this tri-party MOU between NuScale Power, Doosan Enerbility and KEXIM, we have established the foothold for entering the global SMR market.”
Since 2019, Doosan Enerbility has been working together with NuScale Power on the SMR manufacturability review and prototype development. At the end of last year, Doosan signed an agreement to manufacture the key materials for the Idaho-based UAMPS* Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) plant, the first SMR plant to be built in the United States. Plans are also in place to commence manufacturing of the reactor at the end of this year.* UAMPS: Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems
