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| Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, the nuclear plant arm of Doosan Group, was a part Korea’s first overseas nuclear plant project, Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates. Korea Times file |
By Yi Whan-woo
Doosan Group is expected to benefit from the agreement reached between the leaders of Korea and the United States on nuclear plants last week, after undergoing massive restructuring due to the Moon Jae-in administration’s nuclear phase-out policy.
During their summit, Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to cooperate in tapping into overseas nuclear markets, including joint participation in nuclear power plant projects.
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| Company logo of Doosan Group / Korea Times file |
The cooperation is based the notion that “safe, secure, and safeguarded uses of nuclear technology remain key characteristics of the alliance” as China and Russia’s nuclear plant exports rise sharply.
Nuclear energy may have received less attention than microchips, electric cars, batteries and pharmaceuticals when Korea’s four largest conglomerates ― Samsung, Hyundai, LG and SK ― collectively promised to invest $39.45 billion in the U.S. on the occasion of the bilateral summit.
However, as a Seoul National University Nuclear Engineering professor put it, the Moon-Biden commitment “certainly hits the spot” for Doosan Group, a specialist in the nuclear plant business.
The professor, who asked not to be named, argued the Moon government has been dubious about its nuclear phase-out policy, pushing to shut down nuclear plants on one hand, while being open to exporting nuclear plants to other countries.
The government has recently shown interest in small modular reactors (SMRs), which have emerged as a future energy business around the world.
An SMR is a small nuclear power plant with an electricity output of 300 megawatts or less. Such characteristics lessens safety concerns as compared to more large-scale reactors.
They are also seen as an effective means to produce energy without carbon emissions.
The Moon government explained that the development of SMRs will be solely for export purposes, but it still stirred up confusion over whether it is slowly backing away from its nuclear phase-out plans.
“Against this backdrop, the Moon-Biden commitment ensures the nuclear plant businesses can push ahead with SMRs and other related projects,” the professor said.
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, the nuclear plant arm of Doosan Group, did not comment on the prospects of its overseas business after the summit. But industry sources speculate Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction may be able to win multiple projects with U.S. firms.
They said the company already entered the SMR business by signing a business agreement with NuScale Power, the first American company to pass all SMR design certification tests by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year.
“It is possible Doosan will handle construction and maintenance, while the U.S side may offer related technology in possible joint projects in the future,” a source said.
State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power contributed to positive prospects. During a briefing, May 24, the company speculated that Korea, based on its expertise, “may be able to dominate the global market for SMRs.”
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has been one of Doosan Group’s two major cash-cow businesses, with Doosan Infracore being the other.
The group was hit hardest by the government’s nuclear phase-out policy, resulting in a liquidity crisis as they had to sell off key assets as a self-rescue plan.
The assets included Club Mow Country Club, Doosan Tower building, Doosan Solus and Doosan Mottrol.
Doosan Infracore will mark the final stage of the self-rescue plan. The sales process with Hyundai Heavy Industries Group will be completed in the third quarter of this year.
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