South Korea’s largest shipbuilder makes nuclear move

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), a sub-holdings company of HD Hyundai, has held a joint research and technology exchange meeting with TerraPower and CORE POWER with plans unveiled to develop small modular nuclear reactors for use on newbuilds. 

The reactor, which will be jointly developed by KSOE and other partners including TerraPower and CORE POWER, centres around TerraPower’s molten chloride fast reactor (MCFR) design. 

HD Hyundai invested $30m in TerraPower in November 2022 and has been looking at nuclear power for ships for a number of years. 

KSOE plans to send a R&D team to TerraPower in March to continue cooperation with all the joint research companies from various fields including marine nuclear power plants and new nuclear applications. In addition, KSOE plans to join the establishment of a system for the application of marine reactors with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and classification societies ABS and Lloyd’s Register.

Commenting on the HD Hyundai news, Mikal Bøe, the founder of CORE POWER, said the narrative around new nuclear for maritime was strengthening. 

“Adding their world-class expertise in shipbuilding and process engineering and CORE POWER’s 60+ shareholders from the maritime and energy industries illustrates how a broader understanding that there is no net-zero without nuclear, is now being established,” Bøe said.

Splash understands more than 60% of CORE POWER shareholders are household names in the shipping industry combining corporations, trading houses, shipyards, cargo interests, financial institutions and family offices representing long-term investors.

Other floating nuclear power plant projects are underway in the US, China, Denmark, Russia, Italy and South Korea.