[Report] "We Painted Over Parts Made 5 Years Ago to Prevent Rust"... Doosan Endured Nuclear Phase-Out and Blossomed 'Shin Hanul'

Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Main Equipment
Parts Manufactured Again After 6 Years
Moved to Nuclear Plant for Assembly
Secured 2.9 Trillion KRW Workload Over 10 Years
Also Producing Cogeneration and Wind Power Equipment

On the 15th, the Doosan Enerbility forging plant in Changwon, Gyeongnam, instantly transformed into a jjimjilbang (Korean sauna). A massive 200-ton lump of steel, resembling a gigantic tank, appeared with a roaring sound. The billet temperature was 1230 degrees Celsius. Normally, the billet surface temperature is 700~800 degrees, but it was heated even hotter in a furnace for three more days. When this billet was pressed by an 8-story (23m) high press with a force equivalent to 240,000 adult men pressing simultaneously (17,000 tons), the surface of the steel lump crumbled and fell off.

A large clamp attached to a crane gripped the steel lump and pushed it into the press, turning it this way and that. The rough steel lump gradually took on a cylindrical shape. A hole was also drilled in the center. By repeating this forging process to shape the steel lump as desired, a pipe with a diameter of 5.3m and a length of 3.6m is produced. This pipe is used in the ‘steam generator’ of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4.

A 17,000-ton press installed at Doosan Enerbility's Changwon headquarters forging plant is working on the forging material for the steam generator, one of the main components of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4.
[Photo by Doosan Enerbility]

Endured the Nuclear Phase-Out... Shin Hanul Units 3 & 4 Main Equipment 'Blazing'

On this day, Doosan Enerbility began manufacturing the main equipment for Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 again after six years. This process had been halted due to the previous government's nuclear phase-out policy. It has been about a year since President Yoon Suk-yeol visited this site and expressed his commitment to ‘restoring the nuclear ecosystem.’ In March of this year, a supply contract for the main equipment of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 was signed with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. Thanks to this, Doosan Enerbility secured orders worth 2.9 trillion won over the next 10 years, together with partner companies that were on the brink of collapse.

Outside the forging plant, dozens of pre-manufactured main forging materials from the time of the Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 project announcement were lined up. Factory Manager Lee Dong-hyun explained, “Parts made five years ago were painted to prevent oxidation.”

An employee is inspecting a replaceable reactor head at the Doosan Enerbility Changwon headquarters nuclear power plant. [Photo by Doosan Enerbility]

The parts made in the forging plant are transported to the nuclear plant, where they are assembled and inspected into large products. By connecting parts, six core main equipment units are made, including steam generators, pressurizers, and coolant pumps. The 1400MW-class Korean standard model APR1400 reactor used in Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 is also produced here. Divided into six zones, this facility will be reborn next year as the only domestic factory producing main equipment for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Starting in July, work will begin to convert Zones 1 and 2 into SMR production processes. In the second half of the year, the workforce will be increased by about 40 to 60 people.

Doosan Enerbility employees are carrying out the final assembly work of a large gas turbine for power generation.
[Photo by Doosan Enerbility]

Doosan, the Energy Department Store... Equipped with Wind Power and Gas Turbines

The Changwon plant, which is 1.5 times the size of Yeouido, houses not only the nuclear plant but also production facilities for gas turbines used in combined heat and power plants and wind power generation equipment. Gas turbines for power generation, called the ‘flower of mechanical engineering,’ are a culmination of cutting-edge engineering technology. The design localization rate is 100%, and the manufacturing localization rate is 90%. In 2020, Korea became the fifth country in the world to possess original gas turbine technology. Steam turbines boil water, and the high-temperature, high-pressure steam generated rotates magnets inside the generator to produce electrical energy. This process generates heat of about 1620 degrees Celsius. Doosan Enerbility possesses all the necessary technologies to cope with this, including thermal barrier coating technology, precision machining technology, and cooling hole processing technology. The 270MW-class DGT6-300H S1 model is already being demonstrated at the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant. Executive Director Lee Sang-eon of the GT Center said, “Selling one gas turbine is equivalent to exporting 480 cars loaded on a ship.” They plan to complete preparations for commercializing hydrogen turbines by 2027. Lee said, “While we were latecomers in gas turbine development, we aim to be leaders in hydrogen turbines.”

Interior view of Doosan Enerbility's Changwon headquarters Wind Power Plant 2. The production of 5.5 MW wind turbine nacelles, to be supplied to the Jeju Hallim Offshore Wind Power Complex, is in full swing.
[Photo by Doosan Enerbility]

The wind turbine manufacturing facilities consist of Wind Power Plants 1 and 2 and a finished product storage yard, totaling three locations. They have secured contracts for a total of 340MW, of which 193MW is for offshore wind power. Executive Director Song Chi-wook, in charge of wind power production, said, “We developed technology optimized for Korean winds, so even with the same model, our efficiency is higher than that of leading overseas companies like Germany’s Siemens.”

Currently, orders secured include 18 units for Hanlim Offshore. Song said, “We developed an 8MW model, but to move to mass production, additional facility investment of over 200 billion won is needed. Although investment plans have been established, to bear the cost, we need to sell about 100 to 200 units annually.” He added, “We have achieved a 70% localization rate for parts, enabling co-growth with domestic small and medium-sized parts companies. It would be good if the government took a more active role to expand the market.”

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