[Market Feature] Hyundai Engineering & Construction Soars on News of Participation in U.S. Large-Scale Nuclear Power Project

Hyundai Engineering & Construction is showing strong performance in the early hours of regular trading on October 27. The surge in buying appears to be driven by news of the company's participation in the construction of a large-scale nuclear power plant in the United States.

As of 9:08 a.m. on this day, Hyundai Engineering & Construction's share price on the Korea Exchange was up 7.06% from the previous trading day, reaching 71,300 won. The stock opened at 73,500 won and at one point during the session soared to 74,400 won, before narrowing its gains.

On October 24, Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced that it had signed a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) service contract with Fermi America, a U.S. energy developer, for the construction of four large-scale nuclear power plants within a "Complex Energy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Campus" at its headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Fermi America is a private developer co-founded by former U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and entrepreneur Toby Neugebauer. The company is currently developing a Complex Energy and AI Campus with a total project cost of 500 billion dollars on a 21.19 million square meter site on the outskirts of Amarillo, Texas.

This project, with a total capacity of 11 GW, will include: ▲ AP1000 large-scale nuclear power plants (4 GW), ▲ Small Modular Reactors (SMR, 2 GW), ▲ Gas combined cycle power plants (4 GW), and ▲ Solar and battery storage facilities (1 GW). Hyundai Engineering & Construction is responsible for the basic design, including site layout, cooling methods, budget, and process calculations, and aims to sign the main EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract in the first half of next year.

This contract marks the first time a Korean company is directly participating in a large-scale nuclear power plant construction project in the United States. Hyundai Engineering & Construction aims to expand its presence in the U.S. nuclear power market based on its previous experience in completing nuclear power plants.

On this day, IBK Investment & Securities commented, "This order is more than just a design service contract," adding, "Through this project, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has secured a leading position in the global nuclear power value chain reorganization process in markets such as the United States and Europe, and has increased its potential for expanding into future main EPC contracts and additional SMR projects."