South Koreas Kepco Engineering & Construction Company (Kepco E&C), a unit of Korea Electric Power Corporation, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to cooperate on the development of floating nuclear power plants.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly advance technology development for offshore nuclear power plants with the combination of Kepcos expertise in nuclear power plant design and DSMEs know-how in shipbuilding.

Kepco E&C has been developing Bandi-60, a small modular reactor (SMR) for offshore use, since 2016 and the company believes the development of a floating offshore nuclear power plant equipped with Bandi-60 is expected to gain momentum from the partnership.

The synergy between Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineerings excellent marine floatation design and manufacturing technology and the advanced nuclear technology of Korea Electric Power Technology is expected, said Yeom Hak-gi, director of Kepco corporate R&D subsidiary, the Korea Electric Power Research Institute.

In 2017, Chinese companies China National Nuclear Power (CNNP), Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai Electric Power, Shanghai Guosheng Group and Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power established a joint venture to develop floating nuclear power stations. China planned to build 20 floating nuclear power stations to support offshore activities including oil and gas drilling and island development.

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South Korean power company partners with DSME to develop offshore nuclear power plants - Splash 247