Westinghouse: KHNP is not authorized to use reactor it offered to Czechia

South Korean company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), which won the tender to build nuclear units in the Czech Republic, is not authorized to use the reactor technology it offered Czechia in the tender, according to US company Westinghouse Electric. The Americans accuse the Korean firm of failing to comply with US export control regulations and intend to take legal action over the matter. Westinghouse, which was also interested in building a unit in Czechia, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. KHNP said it has a different view on its right to use the technology and declared that it would comply with US regulations. ČEZ said it had received confirmation from the Koreans that they own the technology.

The new nuclear units at Dukovany will be built by South Korean company KHNP. Initially, there will be two reactors, but the government will also negotiate with the winner an option to build two more units at Temelín. At current prices, one reactor in a two-unit project costs 200 billion crowns. The cabinet chose the Korean company over French firm EDF. Westinghouse also took part in the tender, but the government did not invite it to the next stage of the competition at the beginning of the year. It said the first US bid had failed to meet the requirements.

„The two companies have differing views on the right to use the technology claimed by Westinghouse,“ KHNP responded.

„KHNP will fully comply with the US government's export control regulations,“ the Korean company added.

State-controlled company ČEZ, which is responsible for the tender, is monitoring the dispute, spokesperson Ladislav Kříž told the Czech News Agency today. „We required bidders to confirm, and received confirmation, that they own the rights to the technology they offered, both during the security assessment and in their current bids. Tender participants had to provide evidence that they own and supply the nuclear technology,“ he said. According to him, KHNP also declared during the competition that it was aware of the dispute and offered ČEZ a contractual indemnity commitment.

The dispute with Westinghouse is complicating South Korea's plans to export nuclear technology. While Korean nuclear companies see room for growth in the domestic market, the unresolved dispute is holding back their expansion into foreign markets, South Korean media reported earlier.

However, in September last year, a US court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Westinghouse Electric against its South Korean competitors KHNP and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The court said at the time that Westinghouse was not authorized to bring lawsuits to enforce US export control regulations.

In April last year, South Korean newspaper The Korea Herald reported that the US government was trying to prevent KHNP from exporting nuclear technology because of its dispute with Westinghouse, and was blocking its bid for a nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic. KHNP later said in a statement that the US government was not blocking exports to Czechia and that the company had only received a letter from the US Department of Energy notifying it of procedural guidance.