Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to Decommission Nuclear Plants Using 'Digital Twin'... "Strengthening Export Competitiveness"

Hwang Ju-ho President "Will Lead Digital Twin... Applied to Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning"

Wolseong Unit 1 (on the right), which has been shut down, can be seen at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] Hwang Juho, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), announced plans to apply digital twin technology to nuclear power plant decommissioning work.

President Hwang made this statement on the 27th at the 'Digital Twin Industry-Academia-Research Technology Exchange Workshop' held at the Lahan Select Hotel in Gyeongju. Digital twin technology involves creating a virtual twin of reality in cyberspace and applying data obtained through simulations to the real world.

At the workshop, President Hwang emphasized the commitment to introducing digital twin technology. He said, "KHNP will expand the application of digital twin technology not only to innovative small modular reactors (SMRs) but also to renewable energy sectors and nuclear power plant decommissioning. We expect that securing digital twin technology will also strengthen our competitiveness in nuclear power plant exports."

Hwang Ju-ho, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. [Photo by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power]

Earlier, KHNP successfully completed a pilot project using real-time operational data from power plants to develop digital twin technology last year. From this year until 2025, KHNP plans to develop advanced nuclear power plant situation response technologies based on digital twin technology. Once applied in the field, this technology is expected to make power plant monitoring, diagnosis, and maintenance operations more precise.

Digital twin technology is not the only Fourth Industrial Revolution technology KHNP is accelerating the adoption of. KHNP has already applied Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), big data, and intelligent robots at power plant sites. KHNP explains that on-site staff evaluations of the new technology adoption have been positive.

Meanwhile, about 130 people, including KHNP executives and digital twin experts, attended the workshop. Professor Choi Jaebung of Sungkyunkwan University, recognized as a domestic authority on the metaverse (extended virtual world), gave a lecture on digital transformation. Following this, experts from Korea Electric Power Corporation’s Power Research Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Seoul National University, and Doosan Enerbility presented the current status of digital twin technology development at their respective institutions.