US and South Korea sign memorandum on nuclear technology export principles

The United States and South Korea signed a memorandum last week on principles relating to nuclear technology exports and cooperation in the sector. The US Department of Energy reported this on Monday. However, the document does not make clear what impact it will have on the dispute between US company Westinghouse and South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). KHNP won a tender this summer to build nuclear units in the Czech Republic, while Westinghouse was disqualified from the competition.

„In line with the deep and longstanding relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea, the two countries achieved a significant outcome on November 1 by advancing cooperation in civil nuclear energy through the initialling of a memorandum of understanding,“ the US Department of Energy said.

The two countries thus reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the expansion of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while upholding the highest standards of non-proliferation, safety, safeguards and security. The department said, without providing further details, that the two sides had also strengthened their control over exports of civil nuclear technologies.

„These additional commitments will provide a springboard for expanding bilateral cooperation in combating climate change, accelerating the global energy transition and securing critical supply chains. They will also create new economic opportunities worth billions of dollars and secure or sustain tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in both our industrial sectors,“ the department said in its statement.

The Czech government decided in July to build two nuclear reactors at the Dukovany power plant. It preferred KHNP’s bid to that of France’s EDF. US company Westinghouse, another bidder, had already been disqualified from the competition. Both companies challenged the tender result before the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), which has so far rejected their objections in a non-final ruling. However, a preliminary injunction remains in force, prohibiting power company ČEZ from signing a contract with KHNP; it will expire only once a final ruling has been issued.

„We do not know the details of the agreement between KHNP and Westinghouse, but if it results in a joint effort to successfully deliver the project to build a new nuclear power source in the Czech Republic, that is good news for us,“ ČEZ spokesperson Ladislav Kříž told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

„We have always believed that any disagreements between tender participants can be resolved if there is goodwill. In principle, all the tender participants are reputable companies in the sector, and we work with them at various levels and on significant projects,“ he added.

The first of the new reactors at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred option to build two reactors is 400 billion crowns.

Westinghouse claims that KHNP does not have a licence agreement to export reactors based on the US company’s technology. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the Czech Republic in September and said that Korea was confident it could overcome any obstacles to the project to build two units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant, including lawsuits by unsuccessful bidders.