Korean-Style Smart Reactor Explores Export to Canada

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Alberta Government to Sign Memorandum of Understanding on the 19th

South Korea's export of the Korean Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to Canada is being promoted.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) announced on the 19th that it signed a mutual cooperation agreement online and non-face-to-face with the Government of Alberta, Canada, to utilize the Korean SMR SMART for carbon reduction in the region. SMART is a small modular reactor developed by KAERI in 2012 and was the world's first to receive standard design certification.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Province of Alberta, Canada, have signed a mutual cooperation agreement. Photo by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.

Both parties agreed to discuss applying SMART, which emits almost no carbon, to supply steam needed in Alberta's oil sands mining area. Based on this agreement, they plan to share information in advance necessary for confirming the feasibility of SMART construction and obtaining permits.

SMART has a power generation capacity one-tenth that of conventional large nuclear power plants and is an integrated reactor that includes the reactor, steam generator, pressurizer, and coolant pump all in one vessel. It was recognized for its technical feasibility by receiving the world's first standard design certification in 2012. Among the SMRs currently under discussion, it is evaluated as the one most likely to be demonstrably deployed in the near future.

The Canadian government is actively responding to climate change by introducing a carbon tax and other measures to reduce carbon emissions to 40% of 2005 levels by 2030. To achieve these carbon reduction goals, four provinces?Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta?have announced SMR adoption strategies and have been promoting demonstration deployment plans.

In particular, Alberta has established an SMR adoption plan and promoted strategies for demonstration deployment to reduce the large amounts of CO₂ generated by the oil sands industry and thermal power plants, and through cooperation with KAERI, it expects to reduce carbon emissions in the oil sands industry.

Both parties expect that this mutual cooperation agreement will accelerate discussions and cooperation among companies from both countries wishing to participate in the SMART Alberta project. Korean companies, including Hyundai Engineering, have already been promoting projects utilizing SMART in Alberta's oil sands mining. This mutual cooperation agreement is expected to facilitate the activities of these companies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.