[Rebuild K-Construction] Hyundai Engineering & Construction
Next-Generation Growth Strategy: "Leader in Energy Transition"
Expanding Large-Scale Nuclear Power Plants, SMRs, and Hydrogen Production Plants
Nuclear-Linked Data Center Package Business
Strengthening Partnerships with Westinghouse and Holtec
"The global energy market is undergoing massive changes in new energy sectors such as nuclear power and hydrogen. We are determined to play a pivotal role in the field of energy transition."
This was one of the future business strategies presented by Hanwoo Lee, CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, at the Hyundai Engineering & Construction CEO Investor Day held in March this year. Amid the simultaneous surge in electricity demand worldwide-driven by the rise of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and the electrification of transportation to reduce carbon emissions-he outlined what construction companies, which have traditionally provided infrastructure, must and can do in this new era.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction has announced its intention to accelerate its future energy leadership strategy, centered on nuclear power, in response to the sweeping changes brought by the energy transition. Based on its record of constructing the largest number of nuclear power plants in Korea, the company plans to expand its business beyond large-scale nuclear plants to next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs). Regardless of changing times and evolving technologies, energy infrastructure remains essential, so Hyundai Engineering & Construction is strengthening its business portfolio with a focus on nuclear power.
A bird's-eye view of the large-scale nuclear power plant AP1000®, jointly promoted globally by Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Westinghouse. Provided by Hyundai Engineering & Construction
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Contributes to Building the Largest Private Power Grid in the US
As part of its next-generation growth strategy, the company has positioned itself as a "leader in energy transition." It aims to expand its influence in large nuclear power plants, SMRs, hydrogen production plants, and power grid sectors, while also proposing new package solutions such as data centers linked to nuclear power plants.
Leveraging its unrivaled achievements and technological capabilities in the nuclear sector, proven over more than 50 years of continuous business, Hyundai Engineering & Construction plans to enhance its competitiveness across the entire lifecycle of nuclear power. This includes not only existing nuclear plants and SMRs, but also nuclear decommissioning, spent nuclear fuel storage facilities, nuclear-linked hydrogen production via water electrolysis, and nuclear fusion power. The company also aims to secure core technologies for fourth-generation reactors such as molten salt reactors (MSRs) and sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), which are attracting attention as next-generation SMRs, to prepare for industry diversification and to establish its own unique nuclear power brand.
With its advanced nuclear construction capabilities, Hyundai Engineering & Construction is strengthening strategic partnerships with leading global companies in the nuclear sector. Based on the Korea-US energy alliance, it has developed close relationships with Westinghouse in the large-scale nuclear power sector and Holtec in the SMR sector. The company is also conducting joint research with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute in fields such as MSRs, SFRs, nuclear hydrogen production, and nuclear decommissioning, thereby building its capacity to lead the future nuclear power market.
Hanwoo Lee, CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (left), and Mesut Uzman, CEO of Fermi Nuclear, are taking a commemorative photo after signing the "Basic Design Service Contract for Large Nuclear Power Plants within the Complex Energy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Campus" last month at Hyundai Engineering & Construction headquarters. Provided by Hyundai Engineering & Construction
The company is also actively targeting overseas markets, expanding its core stage to Europe and the United States and accelerating its global expansion. Winning the basic design service contract for four large-scale nuclear power plants within the "Complex Energy and AI Campus" from US energy developer Fermi America is the result of persistent efforts to enter the global market.
This project, led by Fermi America, is the world’s largest private power grid complex, to be built on approximately 21.19 million square meters of land on the outskirts of Amarillo, Texas. The plan is to combine power sources such as nuclear power, gas combined cycle, and solar power with battery energy storage systems to implement a total of 11 GW of independent power supply infrastructure, and to gradually construct a massive hyperscale AI data center that will utilize this power. The total project cost amounts to 500 billion dollars. Hyundai Engineering & Construction is responsible for the basic design, including site layout planning for the construction of four large nuclear power plants-the first phase of the project-as well as reviewing cooling methods, and estimating budgets and schedules. The goal is to sign the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract in the second quarter of next year.
As the US nuclear power industry rapidly grows in line with policies to strengthen national energy security, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has become the first Korean company to sign a contract to execute a large-scale nuclear power plant construction project in the United States. The industry highly values the company’s ability to deliver projects "on time and on budget," a feat unique in the history of nuclear plant construction, and sees this as a foundation for solidifying its position in the US nuclear power market.
First SMR in the US... Specialized Organizational Structure
Hyundai Engineering & Construction is also pursuing an aggressive strategy in the small modular reactor (SMR) market. The company has formed a joint front with Holtec International, a world-leading US nuclear technology company specializing in spent nuclear fuel storage, small modular reactors, and nuclear decommissioning.
In February this year, at the "Mission 2030" event held at the SMR site within the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant complex with Holtec, Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced the steady progress of the Palisades SMR-300 FOAK (First-Of-A-Kind) project. This project involves building two 300 MW-class SMRs at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan, about 120 km northeast of Chicago. With its systematic supply capabilities and world-class project management, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has set out to perfectly realize the first deployment of SMR-300s in the United States.
To strengthen its global competitiveness across the entire energy sector-including nuclear power, renewables, and power transmission and distribution-Hyundai Engineering & Construction has reorganized its existing "New Energy Business Division" into three specialized units: the New Energy Business Planning Office, which oversees overall business planning; the Nuclear Solutions Office, which is responsible for nuclear power projects; and the ECO-One Business Office, which handles renewable energy and power transmission and distribution projects. This reflects the company’s strategy to build a comprehensive energy value chain that connects its core nuclear technology with the renewable sector, thereby driving the entire energy business over the long term.
A Hyundai Engineering & Construction official said, "We are strengthening our technological competitiveness in the global nuclear power market based on decades of accumulated construction and design capabilities. Going forward, we will continue to develop advanced nuclear power technologies, focusing on large-scale nuclear power plants and SMRs, to become a key player in the era of global energy transition."
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