- Westinghouse, KHNP Seek Arbitration Over IP Dispute
- South Korea to Build Two New 1400 MW PWR for UAE
- China / State Council Confirms Plans For Six New Reactors At Three Nuclear Sites
- Sweden / Government Planning To Build At Least 10 New Nuclear Reactors
- Organizations Call on NRC to Act on Delayed Rule
- General Fusion Raises $25M; Reveals Plans for a Demonstration Fusion Plant in Canada’s BC Province, Delays Culkam UK effort
- Marvel Fusion and CSU Partner on US Laser Facility
Westinghouse, KHNP Seek Arbitration Over IP Dispute
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and Westinghouse Electric Corp. have reportedly taken their dispute over South Korea’s nuclear power plant exports to Poland to an international arbitration body after their talks for an out-of-court settlement failed to result in an agreement.
The International Chamber of Commerce, chaired by Nicholas Fletcher, is now assessing damages claimed by each side in relation to the case, which could amount to several hundred million dollars depending on the outcome and an agreement by all parties.
The dispute arose after Westinghouse filed complaints against KHNP and its parent Korea Electric Power Corp. in a US court in October of last year to block exports of nuclear power reactors to Poland.
The move came shortly after KHNP inked a letter of intent with Poland’s state-run power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) and private firm Zespol Elektrowni Patnow-Adamov-Konin (ZE PAK) to build a nuclear power plant consisting of two or four power units with a 1400 MW each.
Westinghouse argued the Korean nuclear reactor model, APR1400, was based on its original design and technology, therefore the two South Korean companies should be held accountable for failure to pay licensing fees based on the export of the APR1400-model nuclear reactors.
KHNP claimed it was licensed to use the technology, thus it is able to export them without permission from Westinghouse and is not liable for royalty payments.
A nuclear power industry official told South Korean news media that both KHNP and Westinghouse will continue to negotiate under the table, while awaiting the international arbitration body’s decision. This news may indicate that the hardening of positions, which characterized the dispute to date, may be abating as both firms want to get on with contracting efforts in their respective projects in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Saudi Arabia.
In April of this year, Wojciech Dabrowski, chief executive of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, told reporters in Seoul that it was closing in on a binding agreement with KHNP to build a nuclear plant in Poland. South Korea is also a bidder on a new nuclear power plant at the Dukovany site in the Czech Republic.
Separately, Westinghouse has an agreement in principle with Poland to build several of its AP1000 PWRs there. Financing of the project on the Polish side remains a work in progress for both the Westinghouse and South Korean efforts. While Poland hopes for US export financing for the Westinghouse bid, so far there have not been any commitments along these lines from US government agencies.
South Korea’s Bid for Nuclear Reactors in Saudi Arabia
Behind the news of negotiations about deals in Poland looms the question of whether South Korea’s bid to build two of its 1400 MW PWRs in Saudi Arabia. Significantly, Westinghouse was not one of the invited bidders to respond to the tender. Other invited bidders are state owned enterprises from Russia, China, and France.
From a US perspective as Westinghouse is not in the bidding due to the lack of a 123 Agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia. A win for South Korea is a preferred option for US national security interests rather than seeing Russia or China having a major role in Saudi Arabia’s energy security for the next 60 years.
There was a potential to resolve the dispute last April during a visit to the US by by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. It’s unclear if he discussed the dispute with President Biden or even if the White House understands the geological implications of South Korea losing its place in the Saudi bidding due to the unresolved dispute with Westinghouse. The failure of the meeting of the two presidents to address the dispute is a lost opportunity and a setback for both Westinghouse and South Korea.
From a practical political matter, while Westinghouse is owned by a Canadian private equity fund, it is plausible to assume that Westinghouse has claimed, in lobbying efforts in DC, that thousands of American jobs are at risk if South Korea prevails in the case.
This message probably deterred the White House from an activist approach to the case which avoided displeasing the visiting South Korean president while at the same time holding Westinghouse at arms length by telling the two parties to work things out on their own.
It may be that the move to international arbitration is the best option at this point for a resolution of the intellectual property claims by Westinghouse which would allow both parties to move forward with their respective business development strategies.
Clock is Ticking on a US / Saudi Nuclear Deal
All three of the pending tenders – Poland, Czech Republic, and Saudi Arabia – have not yet reached the decision point. This means there is time for arbitration to work, but patience is a fragile thing in the global nuclear export world, and neither party should depend on expecting it to last very long.
The Wall Street Journal reported August 9th that the US and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for help with that country’s civilian nuclear energy program, and for other measures including US security guarantees. US officials poured cold water on the idea that a deal was imminent.
John Kirby, National Security Spokesman, was quoted by the WSJ as saying, “There is no agreed to set of negotiations. Other US officials told the newspaper the process to reach a final agreement could take the better part of a year but also emphasized that the deal faces long odds.
With regard to its civilian nuclear program, Saudi Arabia has said that if it can’t get what it wants from the US, it will turn to China for its Hualong One PWRs. In terms of what is reported to be discussed for the exchange for US concessions to Saudi Arabia, the US will expect Saudi Arabia to put distance between itself and China both economically and militarily. It would be expected that Saudi Arabia would not buy nuclear reactors from China and would not allow China to establish military bases on Saudi soil.
The WSJ also reported that some Israeli government officials have expressed concerns that US support for a Saudi nuclear program could create a path forward for that country to also develop nuclear weapons in response to Iran’s ramping up of its uranium enrichment production.
Will the effort succeed? The WSJ quoted Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute who talked about the perils of trying to accomplish several things at once. He compared the effort using the metaphor of a person trying to climb several high mountains at the same time.
“It’s such a dangerous landscape. There are four or five things they need to do to make sure they don’t go into thin air and go off the mountain.”
And Katulis added this note of skepticism. He said, “To me it seems highly improbable in the short run, but who knows.”
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South Korea to Build Two New 1400 MW PWR for UAE
South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have launched talks on the construction of two additional 1400 MW PWR type nuclear reactors at the Barakah site on the UAE’s Persian Gulf which is about 175 miles west of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
According to the government and nuclear industry English language sources in South Korea, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the ordering body, held a virtual meeting to discuss a partnership on the construction of the fifth and sixth units at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
Multiple sources familiar with the project said soil preparation work has been partially completed at the construction site. Both sides are expected to settle the details following further negotiations.
The project of building two additional units is estimated at $15.3 billion or about $7.65 billion/reactor or just under $5,500/kw. This price may quickly become a global competitive benchmark for other full size reactor deals outside of Russian and Chinese orbits.
Last January UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed on a joint construction project of nuclear reactors for the UAE or other countries.
Korea won orders to construct four units in Barakah in December 2009. Three reactors have begun commercial operations from 2021 and the fourth reactor is expected to launch work next year.
The Yoon administration has a policy of pushing exports of nuclear reactors. The government has also made investments in the nuclear power plant equipment market
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China / State Council Confirms Plans For Six New Reactors At Three Nuclear Sites
(NucNet) China has approved expansion projects at three nuclear power stations, according to a statement from the State Council released in late July.
Six new nuclear units have been approved to expand three existing stations in Shandong province, Fujian province and Liaoning province, according to state news outlet China Daily.
China Daily said the six approved units are
- units 5 and 6 of the Ningde nuclear station in Fujian province, southeast China;
- units 1 and 2 of the Shidao Bay station, also known as Shidaowan, in Shandong province, eastern China; and
- units 1 and 2 of the Xudabu (also Xudapu or Xudabao) station in Liaoning province, northwest China.
Total investment in the new units is estimated at ($16.7B, €15B), according to press reports in China.
China General Nuclear Power Group said the four new units at Ningde and Shidao Bay, Fujian will employ Hualong One, or HPR1000 pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology. The Hualong One is a domestically designed, Generation III nuclear reactor.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) subsidiary China Nuclear Power Company said each unit at Xudabu would have a capacity of 1,291 MW which are CAP100 domestic units.
In April 2022 the State Council approved the construction of two new reactors at each of the Haiyang, Lufeng and Sanmen nuclear power station sites. These reactors will be based on the Westinghouse AP1000 design.
In September 2022 reports said China had approved four further new reactors at Lianjiang and Zhangzhou. These units will be Hualong One reactors.
State news agency Xinhua and the China Nuclear Energy Association said those approvals brought the number of approved new nuclear power units to 10 in 2022, the highest yearly number in more than a decade.
According to China’s 14th and latest Five-Year Plan, which covers the period 2021-2025, the government is planning for 70 GW (gross) of installed nuclear capacity by 2025. China’s fleet of 55 nuclear plants has an installed capacity of about 53 GW.
The Ningde nuclear site already has four Generation II+ CPR1000 PWR units in operation.
At Xudabu there are two Russia-supplied VVER-1200 PWRs under construction. Those units are Xudabu-3 and -4. Xudabu-1 and -2 were planned to be Generation III CAP1000 plants, China’s domestic version of the Westinghouse AP1000 design, but construction has not yet begun.
The Shidao Bay site is home to the Shidao Bay demonstration high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR-PM), which reached full power operation for the first time in December 2022. The Generation IV HTR-PM features two small reactors that drive a single 210 MW turbine. The plant is also the first to make use of pebble bed reactor technology developed by CNNC.
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Sweden / Government Planning To Build At Least 10 New Nuclear Reactors
(NucNet) Romina Pourmokhtari, the nation’s climate and energy minister, said on August 9th that Sweden needs to triple its nuclear power capacity over the next two decades to meet a surge in electricity demand. To achieve this outcome it plans to build at least 10 new large-scale reactors. The new power stations are aimed at meeting a doubling of electricity demand due to electrification of industrial production and transportation sectors of Sweden’s economy.
The plan for 10 new reactors would mark a significant change from the country’s current capacity for nuclear power, with six reactors in operation in Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals accounting for about 30% of its electricity production.
Sweden has environmental legislation that states that caps a maximum of 10 nuclear reactors may be in operation in the country.
“These restrictions stand in the way of a modern view of nuclear power,” Pourmokhtari said.
“The Swedish debate on nuclear power has in recent decades harmed the country’s development of nuclear power, while other countries have developed the technology.”
Sweden’s Moderates agreed when they formed a coalition government with the Christian Democrats, Liberals and the far-right Sweden Democrats that more reactors would be permitted and that investments in nuclear power would be made profitable through credit guarantees and changes to pricing methods to set rates for electricity generated by new reactors.
Swedish government officials did not indicate the timing of a tender for the 10 new full size reactors nor a preference for reactors designs. If the country chooses PWRs, ten 1000 MW units, at $5,500/Kw, would cost $55 billion. Spread over a ten year period, the cost would be an affordable $5.5 billion annually.
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Organizations Call on NRC to Act on Delayed Rule
A coalition of pro-nuclear groups issued a sharp criticism of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over delays in issuing key regulations that govern the safety of US nuclear reactors.
The Breakthrough Institute, Clean Air Task Force, ClearPath, Nuclear Innovation Alliance and Third Way urge NRC to implement Congressionally-mandated rule to modernize emergency preparedness requirements for new advanced nuclear energy reactors
The groups said it has been nearly two years since the NRC staff finished work on a rule to modernize emergency preparedness requirements and tailor them to the technical characteristics of new reactors, a process that was mandated by Congress in 2021. However, without explanation the Commission has not acted, and the resulting delays are putting an undue burden on new reactor developers as well as the NRC staff.
Now these organizations are calling on the NRC to follow the Commission’s own operating principles and take prompt action on the rule.
Background on the Issue
The Commission’s existing emergency planning rule is more than 40 years old and is designed for a specific type of reactor—large reactors that are cooled with water at high pressure. The reactors under development now are substantially different. Congress acknowledged these differences and mandated making emergency preparedness and other areas appropriate for new designs by 2021. The modernized rule, which requires a vote by the commissioners to take effect, is the product of extensive consultation between the NRC staff, the public, and reactor developers.
Without a new rule in place, companies seeking to license their advanced reactor designs face major regulatory uncertainty regarding what requirements will be in place for applications. To prepare, several companies have started to prepare two sets of documents, one for the modernized rule that has yet to be issued and a contingency that meets the existing rules. Under existing rules, applicants can apply to the NRC for exemptions from current requirements or develop their own entirely unique approach to emergency preparedness, but that adds costs and time for both the companies and the NRC staff.
Why is the NRC Sitting on Its Hands?
When the NRC began planning for the new rule, it anticipated completion by April 2020. The staff finished its work in December 2021, and the Commission has repeatedly delayed voting; it now anticipates publishing the new rule on January 3, 2024, which means it will have sat on the Commissioners’ desks for two years.
Eight Commissioners have been in office since this rulemaking started. The current commissioners have pledged timely, efficient regulation.
NRC Chairman Christopher Hanson, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee in June of this year, “I have said multiple times — we shouldn’t be an impediment to the deployment of new nuclear.”
Commissioner Bradley Crowell said at the Regulatory Information Conference in March of this year, “to achieve success I believe the NRC must execute its mission on a timeline that supports the U.S. Government’s energy and climate goals.”
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General Fusion Raises $25M; Reveals Plans for a Demonstration Fusion Plant in Canada’s BC Province’ Delays Culham UK Effort
(Geekwire) General Fusion announced $25 million in new funding and plans to build a demonstration machine in its home province of British Columbia. The 21-year-old company has raised a total of roughly $330 million. This latest round was anchored by existing investors BDC Capital and GIC. It included a $3.7 million grant from the Government of British Columbia. Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos is a past investor.
General Fusion’s new magnetized target fusion machine, dubbed the Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), will be about half the size of its planned commercial fusion device. The reactor should be able to reach more than 100 million degrees Celsius — more than six-times hotter than the center of the sun.
The company aims for the LM26 to reach fusion conditions by 2025, and ultimately achieve scientific breakeven equivalent — which means the machine can produce as much power as it takes for it to create fusion.
“Over 20 years, General Fusion has achieved significant technical milestones, and validated all key elements of the magnetized target fusion approach including plasma stability, temperature and compression,” said Zoltan Tompa, senior partner with BDC Capital.
“The new LM26 machine represents a capital efficient steppingstone to de-risk their Fusion Demonstration Program.”
Culham UK Fusion Plant Delayed
General Fusion is reported to be pausing the start of construction of a larger demonstration machine in the United Kingdom. The new plans to build the LM26 will delay by a couple of years the start of the U.K. reactor, which was to begin operating in 2025. Insights provided by the LM26 will be incorporated into plans for the U.K. device, with the intention of making the latter’s design closer to the commercial product than was previously planned. General Fusion said it aims to commercialize its technology by the early 2030s.
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Marvel Fusion and CSU Partner on US Laser Facility
(WNN) German laser fusion developer Marvel Fusion and the Colorado State University (CSU), based in Ft. Collins, CO, about 70 miles north of Denver, are to create a public-private partnership for the construction of a $150 million high-power laser and fusion research facility on the CSU Foothills Campus.
Targeted for completion in 2026, the site for the new laser facility is near CSU’s existing Advanced Beam Laboratory, built in 2013, on the CSU Foothills Campus.
“Such a combination of lasers will make the facility unique in the world, and it would be designed to accommodate expansion and additional lasers in the future,” Marvel said. When completed, the state-of-the-art facility will serve as a platform to advance the company’s laser-driven fusion approach.
The partnership is expected to establish Fort Collins as a nexus for laser fusion research and deliver significant positive impacts to Colorado, it added.
“This public-private partnership sets the global standard for laser-based fusion research, propelling the development of a safe, clean, and reliable energy source. It is an incredible step forward for Marvel Fusion and a testament to our success and vision,” said Marvel CEO Moritz von der Linden.
CSU is a member of LaserNetUS, a program funded by the DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences. LaserNetUS works to ensure North America has a strong network of capable laser research facilities and provides access for research groups including US National Laboratories, universities and private industry. The DOE recently announced $12.5 million in additional funding to CSU for laser upgrade prototyping and increased LaserNetUS support.
Munich-based Marvel is also planning the construction of a prototype as the next step toward a commercial fusion power plant. The prototype will house hundreds of laser systems capable of achieving fusion ignition and proving the technology at scale.
The company noted that ongoing scientific and technological initiatives in Europe, including experiments at Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich’s CALA laser and the ELI-NP laser in Romania, will continue to play a vital role in its research and development efforts.
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First Light Fusion and Tractebel Machine 4 Development Agreement
(WNN) Tractebel and First Light Fusion have signed a framework agreement for the development of the Machine 4 project designed to demonstrate net energy gain.
First Light, founded in 2011, is based at the UK Atomic Energy Agency’s (UKAEA) Culham campus, near Oxford. Its approach to fusion is projectile fusion, which is a branch of inertial confinement fusion. Last December the National Ignition Facility in the USA became the first to demonstrate energy gain from fusion, although in its case it uses lasers in the process.
First Light’s inertial confinement approach aims to create the extreme temperatures and pressures required for fusion by compressing a target using a hypervelocity projectile. Its plant design avoids the three biggest engineering challenges of fusion: preventing neutron damage, producing tritium, and managing extreme heat flux.
The company said its ‘liquid lithium wall’ approach, inside the reactor chamber where the fusion reaction will take place, gives it an inherent advantage in tritium production. The fusion reaction is surrounded by liquid lithium, allowing tritium self-sufficiency to be easily reached, and making it possible to design for excess tritium production.
The two companies said the Machine 4 demonstrator, when completed, “will house the largest pulsed power driver in the world, 75 meters in diameter.”
Tractebel will “leverage its international expertise in fusion”, including from working on projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France, to help the successful delivery of the project.
First Light Fusion and the UKAEA signed an agreement in January for the design and construction of the Machine 4 facility. Machine 4 is not intended to generate power, but will help to develop technology needed for future inertial confinement fusion energy power plants.
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