Changwon Special City Selected for Ministry of Industry SMR Manufacturing Support Center Construction Project Competition

Changwon Mayor Hong Nampyo, "SMR Manufacturing Cluster as the First Step to Revitalize the Government Nuclear Industry"

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam announced on the 30th that it has been selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s “Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Manufacturing Support Center Construction Project” competition.

Changwon Special City Hall.

Changwon City and Gyeongnam Province will receive 9.7 billion KRW in national funding over four years for this project, and will invest 22.3 billion KRW in local funds to establish an SMR robot-utilized manufacturing support center covering approximately 5,800㎡ in the Changwon National Industrial Complex Expansion Area (Namji-dong), Seongsan-gu.

Through this, they plan to develop technologies and processes to drastically reduce the manufacturing time of SMR main equipment and establish a base to support the growth of global small and medium-sized enterprises in the SMR sector.

The lead institution for this construction project is Gyeongnam Technopark, with joint research institutions including the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Conformity Laboratories, Changwon National University, and Gyeongsang National University participating.

Additionally, based on an industry-academia-research network related to SMR involving 50 demand companies including Doosan Enerbility, Changwon City will provide local fund matching and site provision, while Gyeongnam Province will be responsible for budgeting and administrative support.

The SMR robot-utilized manufacturing support center will establish manufacturing equipment related to SMR main devices that small and medium-sized enterprises find difficult to individually acquire, and support robot-utilized automation technology and process development to shorten production periods, prototype production support, process R&D support, automation process development in preparation for reduced manufacturing workforce, and professional workforce training.

Changwon Special City is a city that concentrates the manufacturing capabilities of South Korea’s nuclear power industry, with related nuclear power companies clustered together, including Doosan Enerbility, the country’s only nuclear power main equipment manufacturer.

Starting with the robot-utilized SMR manufacturing support center, the city plans to establish a support system for the entire SMR production cycle so that Changwon’s nuclear power companies can preoccupy the rapidly expanding SMR new market expected from 2030, and create a Changwon-Gyeongnam global SMR cluster.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, said, “Regional nuclear power companies have embraced hope for a new leap forward with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s plan to foster the Changwon-Gyeongnam global SMR cluster announced at the public discussion on people’s livelihood. They expect revitalization of the SMR industry through research and development investment and expanded support for manufacturing technology development.” He added, “This Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy SMR manufacturing support center construction project will be the first step in the government’s nuclear industry revitalization policy to create a global SMR manufacturing cluster in the Changwon-Gyeongnam region. Changwon City will continue to make its best efforts in line with this.”