The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced strategy measures to strengthen exports of nuclear power plant equipment and materials (NPP EM) at the 4th Nuclear Power Plant Export Strategy Committee Meeting on March 29 at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul.

Global demand for NPP EM has recently been on the rise due to the construction of new NPPs and expanding continued operations, while major NPP supplier countries are experiencing weakening EM manufacturing due to abandoned NPP projects, which are in turn opening doors for Korean companies to enter the EM supply chain.

However, domestic NPP EM export is still stuck in its infancy, with the total of 143 NPP orders over the last five years (2017-2021) amounting to USD 0.5 billion, which is 43 percent lower in the number of contract orders and 12.4 percent lower than contracted amount compared to those of preceding five years (2012-2016). Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)’ independent exports reached only 9 percent (by number of projects), much of this consisting of subcontracting of bid projects awarded to public NPP companies.

The strategy proposed by the Government to tackle this issue is a two-track solution aiming to boost exports of NPP EM by expanding joint project entry of public NPP companies and EM contractors, while simultaneously bolstering the independent export capacity of NPP SMEs.

First, in order to expand joint project entries, public NPP companies and EM contractors will strive to secure KRW 5 trillion worth of NPP EM projects by 2027, equivalent to the project cost of building one NPP. While focusing on securing large-scale projects for construction and refurbishment of NPPs and nuclear fuel plants so that numerous NPP EM firms can participate, diversification efforts will also be made by exporting high value-added single-unit EMs, operation and maintenance services, and developing small modular reactor (SMR) modules and nuclear fuel.

Second, the Government will launch the “NPP SME Export First Step Program” and give assistance throughout the entire export cycle with the goal to nurture, by 2027, 100 NPP SMEs capable of independent export without reliance on public companies’ bidding success.

NPP SMEs will be prioritized as recipients of Government support for export in terms of finance, certification, marketing and market information. Firms will receive up to KRW 150 million for assistance in overseas certification and up to KRW 30 million for vendor registration procedures. Matching services with 25 overseas buyers, exhibition participation, and access to an upgraded bid information system are some of the assistance to be provided for domestic NPP SMEs by the government.

Meanwhile, the support system for NPP EM export will also be reinforced within Korea and overseas. In addition to the consultation desk for NPP EM export to be newly installed in May, “NPP Trade Centers” across 10 countries (U.S., Canada, France, UK, Czech Republic, Poland, India, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan) run by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will serve as a local network for sourcing marketing assistance and information. MOTIE will be reviewing these support efforts on a half-yearly basis and consult with the budgetary authorities to increase the exclusive budget for NPP EM export.

MOTIE Minister Lee Chang-yang stated that “this strategy is for implementing whole-of-Government export expansion measures” and asked for “public-private efforts towards boosting NPP EM exports and winning new orders for Korea to take the lead in NPP export and restore the industry’s ecosystem.”