Samsung C&T Begins Full-Scale Global Business for Small Modular Reactors (SMR)

On the 9th (local time), at the NuScale Power headquarters located in Oregon, USA, O Se-cheol, CEO of Samsung C&T (fifth from the left), and John Hopkins, CEO of NuScale Power (fourth from the left), along with executives from both companies, took a commemorative photo after discussing global SMR cooperation plans. (Photo by Samsung C&T)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] Samsung C&T is launching its global SMR business in full swing by forming a comprehensive partnership with NuScale Power, the world's No.1 small modular reactor (SMR) company based in the United States.

On the 9th (local time), Samsung C&T's Construction Division held a meeting with top executives including CEO Oh Se-chul and NuScale Power CEO John Hopkins at NuScale Power's headquarters located in Oregon, USA, and discussed cooperation plans for "joint entry into the global SMR business and market expansion," Samsung C&T announced on the 10th.

Samsung C&T has been solidifying its strategic partnership with NuScale Power through equity investments of $20 million in 2021 and $50 million in 2022 to enter the next-generation nuclear power technology SMR market. Through this discussion, they announced that they agreed on specific measures to expand the global market.

First, regarding the SMR project being carried out by UAMPS, a U.S. power generation company, aiming for commercial operation in 2029 in Idaho, USA, both parties agreed to share accumulated technologies and capabilities, including dispatching technical personnel from the preliminary construction planning stage.

In addition, based on Samsung C&T’s experience and capabilities in constructing a total of 10 nuclear power plants domestically and internationally, they agreed to actively cooperate as strategic partners in Eastern European SMR projects, including the project jointly promoted by the Romanian government and NuScale Power. Going forward, they plan to jointly conduct research and commercialization not only for power generation through SMRs but also for hydrogen production using high-temperature steam.

Oh Se-chul, CEO of Samsung C&T, emphasized, "Through a solid partnership with a world-leading SMR company, we have established a foothold for expanding the global SMR market, which is expected to grow continuously in the future. We will actively strengthen our eco-friendly new business portfolio, including SMR, hydrogen, and ammonia, to establish ourselves as a leading company in ESG."

John Hopkins, CEO of NuScale Power, said, "NuScale is doing its best to contribute to countries and communities worldwide based on innovative nuclear technology, and we are grateful to have solidified our partnership with Samsung C&T, which has global competitiveness. This agreement can be seen as a representative case of collaboration between leading companies that will lead the future nuclear industry."

NuScale Power possesses core SMR technology that allows installation of up to 12 reactor modules, each with 77MW capacity, producing a total of 924MW of power using a natural cooling SMR technology. NuScale Power’s SMR is being developed with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and is the only one among over 70 SMR models worldwide to have obtained design certification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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