Groundbreaking Ceremony for 'Wonjun Haechae Yeonguso' Held... Securing World-Class Competitiveness in Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Industry

Groundbreaking Ceremony on the 31st, Project Cost 250 Billion KRW, Site Area 138,000㎡

Aerial view of the Nuclear Decommissioning Research Institute.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] The groundbreaking ceremony for the “Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute Construction Project,” a key facility for completing the entire lifecycle technology of the nuclear power industry, will take place.

According to Ulsan City, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute will hold the “Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute Groundbreaking Ceremony” at 11 a.m. on the 31st in Myeongsan-ri, Seosaeng-myeon, Ulju-gun.

The event will be attended by about 120 people, including officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ulsan City, Busan City, Gyeongbuk Province, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and local representatives, and will proceed with progress reports, awards for meritorious persons, and groundbreaking performances.

Location map of the Nuclear Decommissioning Research Institute.

The Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute will be located in Myeongsan-ri, Seosaeng-myeon, Ulju-gun, and Hyoam-ri, Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun (border area between Ulsan and Busan), with a site area of 137,954㎡ (93,341㎡ in Ulsan, 44,613㎡ in Busan) and a total floor area of 19,789㎡.

The total project cost is 250 billion KRW, and the main facilities include five buildings: office building, research building, mock-up building (where full-scale models are created and demonstrated), demonstration test building, and radiochemical analysis building, constructed in two phases.

The first phase general facilities (office building, research building, mock-up building) are scheduled for completion in September 2024, and the second phase radiation management facilities (demonstration test building, radiochemical analysis building) are targeted for completion in July 2025.

The main role is to develop technology for safely dismantling permanently shut-down nuclear power plants and to serve as a testing ground for commercialization of dismantling technology and human resource development. It will also support the participation of nuclear power companies located in the southeastern region in the dismantling industry.

Alongside the construction of the Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute, from 2023 to 2026, a total of 240 types of technology development research equipment, including decontamination performance evaluation and analysis equipment worth about 100 billion KRW, will be established.

The employment effect from the construction of the Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute is estimated at 2,292 people (80 direct, 2,212 indirect), and it has also achieved the attraction of specialized nuclear power plant dismantling companies to Ulsan (5 companies as of May 2020).

Since March 2014, Ulsan City has recognized the necessity of attracting the Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute to Ulsan to seize the opportunity to dominate the nuclear power plant dismantling market and has actively entered the competition for attraction.

The city formed an attraction planning team, proposed the attraction to the central government, created an atmosphere for nuclear power plant dismantling attraction, conducted feasibility studies, and carried out a signature campaign urging attraction with the participation of 470,000 people, resulting in today’s achievement.

An official from Ulsan City said, “Having successfully attracted the Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Research Institute in response to the citizens’ aspirations, we will do our best to realize the national vision of ‘securing the world’s best nuclear power plant dismantling industry competitiveness’ in cooperation with the central government, Busan City, and Gyeongbuk Province.”

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