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On May 23rd, in the afternoon at the casting and forging shop of Doosan Enerbility (formerly Doosan Heavy Industries) in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, the production of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), ordered by the U.S. nuclear design firm NuScale Power, was in full swing. Opening the doors to the casting and forging plant, which is the size of eight soccer fields (approximately 54,840 square meters or about 16,600 pyeong), revealed a heated, reddish, alloy steel cylinder (ingot) measuring 2 meters in diameter and 2.5 meters in length, gradually taking shape in a furnace located 250 meters away. This marked the first time that the process of manufacturing SMR nuclear reactors was revealed to domestic media.
Starting in April, Doosan Enerbility has been producing components for the NuScale SMR, which is set to begin commercial operation in the United States, specifically in Idaho, in 2029. The NuScale SMR is essentially the world’s first operational SMR outside of Russia and China. SMRs, often referred to as small and safe nuclear reactors, are being adopted by various countries as a proactive response to the global energy crisis and the need for decarbonization.
According to the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), the global SMR market is projected to reach 85 GW (gigawatts) with 300 units by 2035, amounting to around $500 billion (approximately ￦65 trillion) in value. The World Economic Forum (WEF) also anticipates a compound annual growth rate of 22 percent for the SMR market until 2040.
Following the first NuScale reactor in the United States, it is expected that our domestic nuclear industry’s leading companies will participate in the operation of the second and third reactors as well, in not only reactor technology but also nuclear power plant construction.
XEnergy, for which Doosan Enerbility is responsible for equipment manufacturing, is planning to start operation in Texas in 2029. Simliarly, Hyundai E&C has unveiled plans for commercial operation in the same year for the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, undertaken by Holtec International, with construction set to commence in 2026.
This is not limited to the United States. In the nuclear power equipment and construction market, which requires advanced accumulated technology, several domestic companies such as Doosan, which has successfully operated nuclear power equipment within predetermined budgets and timelines even in the deserts of UAE, are receiving calls from not only Korea but all over the world. Denmark’s Seaborg has established collaborative relationships with shipbuilding company Samsung Heavy Industries, while Canada’s Terrestrial Energy has partnered with construction firm DL E&C.
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