Korea-Bulgaria Sign MOU on Energy Cooperation... Specifics on Nuclear Power Collaboration Including SMR and Waste Management

South Korea and Bulgaria have agreed to expand cooperation in the nuclear power sector, including new nuclear power plant construction, continued operation, radioactive waste management, and small modular reactors (SMR).

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Minister An Deok-geun met with Vladimir Malinov, Minister of Energy of Bulgaria, in Seoul on the 3rd to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for energy cooperation between the two countries and discuss cooperation plans in the energy sector, including nuclear power.

Anduk Geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. (File photo)

First, both countries recognized the importance of cooperation to strengthen energy security and expand clean energy amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties such as the Middle East crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as frequent extreme abnormal weather events like heatwaves and typhoons.

At the meeting, Minister An emphasized, "Bulgaria actively utilizes clean energy sources such as nuclear power (35%) and renewable energy (20%) in the power generation sector," adding, "South Korea is also promoting energy security and accelerating carbon neutrality centered on carbon-free energy, so there is high potential for cooperation between the two countries."

To strengthen cooperation in areas of common interest, the two countries signed an energy cooperation MOU during this meeting. This MOU is a complete revision and re-signing of the energy cooperation MOU initially signed in 2019. Through this, the scope of cooperation was expanded by adding liquefied natural gas (LNG), energy storage, and supply chains to the existing cooperation areas such as policy exchange, nuclear power, and renewable energy. In particular, in the nuclear power sector, cooperation areas were specified to include new nuclear power plant construction, continued operation, nuclear decommissioning, radioactive waste management, SMR, and human resource development.

Meanwhile, Minister An introduced the Korean government’s CFE initiative, which promotes effective carbon neutrality by utilizing various carbon-free energies (CFE), and requested Bulgaria’s interest and support for its international expansion.