Korea's Nuclear Design Technology Exported to the United States for the First Time in 66 Years
Initial Design Contract Signed for the University of Missouri Next-Generation Research Reactor Project
Yoo Sang-im: "A New Success Story for Korean Nuclear Power"
A consortium consisting of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hyundai Engineering, and the U.S. MPR has secured the design contract for the United States' next-generation research reactor project. This is a remarkable achievement as it marks the first time in 66 years that South Korea has exported its nuclear design technology to the pioneering country, the United States.
Nuclear Research Consortium Signs Initial Design Contract for Next-Generation Research with University of Missouri. Provided by Nuclear Research Institute. Yonhap News.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 17th that it had signed the initial design contract for the first phase of the "Next-Generation Research Reactor Project," commissioned by the University of Missouri through an international competitive bidding process.
This project involves the design work for constructing a new high-performance research reactor with a thermal output of 20 MW (megawatts) at the University of Missouri. The university’s existing research reactor (MURR), which produces medical isotopes, began operation in 1966 and has become outdated. To expand isotope production capacity, the university announced the next-generation research reactor construction project in April 2023.
The KAERI consortium passed the preliminary qualification screening in August of that year, was selected as a preliminary candidate in May last year, and after final negotiations in August, confirmed the initial design contract, the first phase of the project, on this day. The initial design phase involves analyzing preliminary design information such as construction site conditions and environmental impact assessments before the conceptual and detailed design of the research reactor.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and KAERI believe that their technology, which includes independently designing, constructing, and operating Korea’s first research reactor "HANARO," designing and constructing the Jordan Research Reactor, and participating in the Delft Research Reactor project in the Netherlands last year, was highly evaluated. In particular, the world’s only high-performance research reactor nuclear fuel technology developed by KAERI, which increases uranium density to enhance nuclear non-proliferation resistance, is analyzed as the key technological factor in winning this project.
Conceptual diagram of the next-generation research reactor core assembly at the University of Missouri. Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Based on this achievement, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to strengthen export strategies for overseas research reactor projects, establish a public-private cooperative export foundation, and advance technology.
Concerns that recent inclusion of South Korea on the U.S. Department of Energy’s sensitive countries list might disrupt scientific research and development (R&D) cooperation have been somewhat alleviated by the successful conclusion of this contract.
Minister Yoo Sang-im of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Winning this project is a new success story for Korean nuclear power, exporting research reactor design back to the United States, which once helped Korea introduce nuclear power. We will accelerate the development of advanced nuclear technology, a national strategic technology, and develop it into a future growth engine."
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