The Key to Complete Restoration of the Nuclear Ecosystem is Public-Private Collaboration... SMR 'Technology Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization' 추진

Announcement of the 'Nuclear Innovation Ecosystem Creation Policy' at the 11th Nuclear Promotion Committee Meeting

The government has decided to promote the establishment of a public-private cooperative innovation ecosystem to secure next-generation reactor technology in the global new energy market.

On the 27th, the government held the 11th Nuclear Promotion Committee meeting and announced the "Nuclear Innovation Ecosystem Establishment Policy," which includes measures to expand and develop core technological capabilities in the nuclear field and strengthen industrial competitiveness.

As countries around the world define nuclear power as an innovative technology and expand support accordingly, competition for next-generation reactors such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) is intensifying due to the diversification of market demand for nuclear power generation. Accordingly, the government judged that in order for Korea to leap forward as a leading country in the global next-generation reactor market, it is important to spread the achievements accumulated through research and development (R&D) to the private sector and to promote private-led technology development, demonstration, and commercialization. Therefore, it presented a strategy to establish a public-private cooperative innovation ecosystem in the next-generation reactor field.

First, through public-private joint projects by reactor type such as high-temperature gas reactors, molten salt reactors, and sodium-cooled fast reactors, the government will swiftly proceed to develop core technologies and establish a foundation for demonstration and commercialization. For innovative SMRs, the plan is to fully mobilize inter-ministerial cooperation, as well as public and private technological capabilities and supply chains, to ensure timely commercialization without project delays. Additionally, a new high-temperature gas reactor development project involving the private sector will be launched this year, aiming to complete the basic reactor design by 2027 and subsequently support private-led domestic and international commercialization.

Depending on the development stage of next-generation reactors, various cooperation methods with the private sector such as joint development, technology transfer, and commercialization support will also be attempted. In particular, to accelerate the early commercialization of next-generation reactors like molten salt reactors, a dedicated commercialization support agency will be established, and in the second half of this year, a "Next-Generation Reactor Technology Development and Innovation Strategy," including customized market preemption strategies by reactor type, will be formulated.

To develop technologies aligned with market demand, a council involving demand and supply companies will be operated from the early stages of technology development, and the government will supply technology and R&D resources as seed money to alleviate the private sector’s technical and financial risks and activate private investment. Furthermore, to strengthen the private-led nuclear innovation ecosystem, the establishment of a "Next-Generation Reactor Research Association" will be promoted to jointly pursue technology cooperation, technology commercialization, and regulatory response.

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1.1414 Trillion KRW Investment in High-Level Radioactive Waste R&D

On the same day, the Promotion Committee also finalized the technology development plan for the timely construction and operation of high-level radioactive waste management facilities. The "High-Level Radioactive Waste R&D Roadmap" is a technology development plan for each stage of high-level radioactive waste management. It is a follow-up to the 2nd Basic Plan for High-Level Radioactive Waste Management established in December 2021.

The R&D roadmap contains detailed analyses by experts on six areas: transportation, storage, site, disposal, volume reduction, and toxicity reduction, including ▲elemental technologies and domestic technology levels ▲technology development schedules and methods ▲required resources.

First, 130 elemental technologies and 473 detailed technologies across the six areas were identified. Among the 130 elemental technologies, 23 have already been secured, 74 are under development, and 33 require future development. It was also analyzed that the technology level in each area has reached about 60-80% compared to leading countries.

Regarding the technology development schedule, transportation and storage technologies will be secured by the late 2030s when the licensing review for interim storage facilities begins. Site-related technologies will be sequentially secured according to the stages of future management facility site selection. Disposal technologies aim to develop a Korean-style disposal system considering domestic waste and rock characteristics, with technology secured by the 2050s. In particular, a research underground facility for experiments at depths similar to disposal facilities will be secured. Volume and toxicity reduction technologies plan to secure core detailed technologies related to demonstration facility basic design and fast reactor safety improvement by 2026.

To this end, an investment requirement of about 1.7 trillion KRW until the operation of disposal facilities was derived, including 1.1414 trillion KRW for R&D and 513.8 billion KRW for infrastructure. This will be funded using the Waste Management Fund and the Nuclear Research and Development Fund.

"Nuclear Power Ecosystem Recovery"... Training 4,500 Experts by 2030

The government has actively promoted expanding work supply and strengthening financial support to normalize the nuclear power ecosystem, which saw significant declines in sales and workforce during the phase-out period. As a result, key indicators such as sales, employment, investment, exports, and nuclear-related major enrollments have been recovering, with sales increasing from 23.8 trillion KRW in 2017 to 25.4 trillion KRW in 2022.

In response to the increasing demand for nuclear industry personnel due to the normalization of nuclear policies and the advancement of the nuclear industry, the government plans to train 4,500 nuclear industry experts by 2030. To cultivate high-quality, advanced personnel over the long term, focused support will be provided to universities and graduate schools related to nuclear majors, while efforts will also be made to strengthen recruitment and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and establish a stable and sustainable supply base for nuclear industry personnel.

The government also aims to innovate nuclear R&D, which during the phase-out period focused on decommissioning and waste management cycles. It will intensively support technology development to build a "Global SMR Cluster" leading the SMR manufacturing market. In particular, new initiatives will be launched to develop SMR innovative manufacturing technologies that drastically reduce production time and costs compared to existing methods, and next-generation nuclear fuels to improve nuclear power economics, securing a technological super-gap.

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