According to the South Korea’s ministry of trade, industry and energy, minister Lee Chang-yang and his counterpart Grant Shapps, the UK’s secretary of state for energy security and net zero, discussed during a meeting in Seoul various ways for cooperation in the nuclear power sector, including nuclear power plant design and construction, equipment manufacturing, nuclear power plant decommissioning, nuclear fuels, and small modular reactors.
“Korea has competitiveness in design, construction and equipment manufacturing of nuclear power plants while the U.K. has strengths in the decommissioning of nuclear plants and nuclear fuels,” Lee said. “The two countries can cooperate in a mutually beneficial way.”
Seoul said South Korea and the UK will also expedite talks on Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (Kepco) potential participation in new nuclear power plant construction in the UK.
This follows the setting up of Great British Nuclear (GBN), a body which will be funded by the government to lead delivery of a programme of new nuclear projects.
In a blueprint for the future of energy in the UK the government said it aims to fully decarbonise the power system by 2035 and as part of this ambition is setting out a programme for increasing nuclear generation to match global competition.
South Korea plans to increase the proportion of nuclear power to almost 35% of the country's total energy mix by 2036, up from around 28% in 2021.
Seoul is also stepping up efforts to export its APR-1400 reactor technology. It has supplied four APR-1400 plants for the Barakah nuclear power station in the United Arab Emirates and is eying projects in countries including Saudi Arabia, Poland, Turkey and Kazakhstan.
