Doosan Enerbility, Romanian President Visits Headquarters... Confirms SMR Capabilities

Chairman Park Ji-won Meets with Key Officials from Romanian Government and Clients
Romania to Launch First SMR Power Plant on Coal-Fired Site

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is promoting the construction of small modular reactor (SMR) power plants as the next-generation nuclear power, visited Doosan Enerbility to check its SMR manufacturing capabilities.

Doosan Enerbility announced on the 25th that President Klaus Iohannis visited its headquarters in Changwon, Gyeongnam on the 24th. Along with President Iohannis, key figures from the Romanian government and project owners attended, including Luminita Odobescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sebastian Ioan Burduja, Minister of Energy; Cosmin Ghita, President of the Romanian Nuclear Company (SNN); Melania Amuza, President of RoPower, the Romanian SMR project owner; and Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Ji-won.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis (right) visited Doosan Enerbility's headquarters in Changwon, Gyeongnam on the 24th and toured the SMR production facility with Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Ji-won (center). (Photo by Doosan Enerbility)

This visit was to inspect the production facilities for the SMR project promoted by Romania. RoPower is pushing forward with the construction of a total 462MW SMR power plant on the site of a closed coal-fired power plant located in the Doicesti area. Six 77MW SMRs from the U.S. company NuScale Power will be used, and Doosan Enerbility is scheduled to manufacture and supply the reactor modules, which are the core main equipment, to NuScale Power.

The Romanian SMR project is currently undergoing site preparation work. The U.S. government announced last month that it could provide approximately 5.4 trillion KRW (4 billion USD) in funding through the Export-Import Bank and the International Development Finance Corporation to support the success of this project.

The visiting delegation toured the forging plant and nuclear plant to examine SMR forging materials and dedicated manufacturing facilities, and reviewed the future project schedule. Doosan Enerbility has been recognized for its manufacturing capabilities by continuously developing SMR innovative technologies such as metal powder hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP) and electron beam welding technology, based on its proven experience in manufacturing main nuclear power equipment since the 1980s.

Previously, Doosan Enerbility secured the supply rights for key equipment by investing in NuScale Power along with domestic investors. It began a manufacturability review of NuScale Power’s reactor modules in 2019, completed it in 2021, and is now fully prepared to manufacture all equipment. NuScale Power’s SMR was the first SMR model to receive design certification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2020.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis (right) visited Doosan Enerbility's headquarters in Changwon, Gyeongnam on the 24th and held a meeting with Park Ji-won, Chairman of Doosan Enerbility. (Photo by Doosan Enerbility)

President Iohannis said, "I am pleased to visit Doosan and confirm the production facilities related to nuclear technology, including SMRs. Romania aims to build a supply chain in the clean energy industry to lead decarbonization in the region. Collaborating and partnering with world-class advanced companies is important to achieve this goal and to strengthen Romania’s future energy and economy."

Chairman Park Ji-won responded, "Based on a strong cooperative relationship with NuScale Power, Doosan Enerbility is steadily advancing its SMR manufacturing capabilities, including innovative technology development. We are also carefully preparing for the first SMR manufacturing in Romania, and through this, we will contribute to the stable supply of clean energy in Romania."