Orion ENC Targets Nuclear Decommissioning Market... "Strengthening Equipment Competitiveness"

On August 1, Orion ENC announced its intention to strengthen its competitiveness in waste inspection and volume reduction equipment in the rapidly growing nuclear power plant decommissioning market, as well as to secure new sources of revenue.

Globally, the demand for nuclear power plant decommissioning is surging, and the growth of related industries is accelerating. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a total of 588 nuclear power plants are expected to be shut down by 2050. In South Korea, the decommissioning market has also been activated, starting with the approval for the decommissioning of Kori Unit 1 on June 26 this year, followed by the official announcement of the main decommissioning construction order on July 17.

Nuclear power plant decommissioning involves complex steps, including spent nuclear fuel removal, decontamination, structural dismantling, waste treatment, and site restoration. Of these, radioactive waste treatment and management account for more than 35% of the total cost. Since storage drums have a fixed capacity, if the physical volume is not reduced after cutting, there will be significant burdens and costs incurred during transportation and storage management.

Orion ENC has established a technological foundation to independently develop, design, and manufacture waste treatment equipment such as volume reduction presses, dryers, and storage drums, and supplies these to nuclear power plants operated by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. The volume reduction press is a key device that compresses cut waste to reduce the number of disposal drums, thereby lowering waste management costs. In addition, the dryer is used to reduce moisture content, which enhances the safety of waste management.

The company plans to develop equipment for decontaminating the large volumes of contaminated soil generated during decommissioning and to secure a foundation for commercialization through pilot operation of prototypes. Furthermore, its system for measuring and monitoring radiation levels after decommissioning has reached the commercialization stage, enabling the company to expand its business to the site restoration phase after waste treatment. Through these efforts, Orion ENC is strengthening its technological presence throughout the entire decommissioning process.

A company representative stated, "With the opening of the decommissioning market, demand for waste inspection, drying, volume reduction, and storage equipment for radioactive waste treatment is rapidly increasing," adding, "We have established a structure that combines both profitability and market scalability by focusing on technology-intensive, high value-added equipment."

Orion ENC has filed and registered more than 130 patents related to radioactive waste management, securing the largest number of intellectual property rights in the domestic nuclear industry. In addition, it is the only SME in the field to hold the TI-2 (Excellent) technology credit rating in South Korea.

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