Westinghouse lawsuit against South Korea’s KHNP could also affect tender for new Czech nuclear unit

The construction of nuclear capacity is not only an issue in the Czech Republic, but also in other European countries, including neighbouring Poland. It was specifically over the Polish tender that US company Westinghouse decided to sue South Korean nuclear unit supplier KHNP in a federal court there, potentially blocking its bid to supply reactors to Poland. According to Westinghouse, the South Korean proposal contains licensed components, meaning KHNP requires its consent.

In tenders for the construction of nuclear units, competition among suppliers is often extremely fierce due to the limited number of contracts and their considerable size. Poland is currently also selecting suppliers for its first nuclear units. In the middle of the month, the Polish government said it would decide on the unit supplier in the coming weeks. This year, the government received bids from US-based Westinghouse, France’s EDF and South Korea’s KHNP.

It was apparently the most advantageous bid from the South Korean supplier that led Westinghouse to file a lawsuit in a US federal court a few days ago. According to Platts, the lawsuit was apparently filed after Westinghouse learned that the Polish government was preparing to sign a preliminary agreement with the South Korean supplier to purchase its technology.

The current dispute is the result of a long-running intellectual property dispute between Westinghouse and KHNP, with Westinghouse insisting that the South Korean APR1400 unit uses licensed System 80 reactor technology, which the company acquired in 2000.

According to Platts, Westinghouse states in its lawsuit that KHNP requires its consent in order to comply with US legislation restricting the sharing of nuclear technologies with other countries. Under this legislation, approval from the US Department of Energy is also required to share certain technologies with other countries.

In the lawsuit, Westinghouse further states that KHNP acknowledged this right when it sold four APR1400 nuclear units to the United Arab Emirates in 2010. At the Barakah nuclear power plant there, the third of the four nuclear units was started up a few weeks ago, bringing the plant very close to overall completion.

The company further said it had learned of KHNP’s intention to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Polish government concerning the supply of APR1400 units. However, according to Westinghouse, providing technical documentation to Poland under this memorandum would require its consent, as well as the aforementioned approval from the US Department of Energy.

Impact on the Czech nuclear tender?

Any action by US courts may not affect only the nuclear tender in Poland. According to Platts, Westinghouse has asked the US court to prohibit KHNP from sharing technical information covered by the relevant legislation not only with Poland, but also with the Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia, which are likewise considering the construction of APR1400 units.