Korean SMRs to be considered for Norwegian project

Wednesday, 30 July 2025

The study - which has been selected by the South Korean export credit bank Korea Eximbank for support - will assess the technical, environmental and regulatory requirements for establishing several innovative i-SMR small modular reactors, developed by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). The study is expected to start in the second half of 2025.

The i-SMR is an integrated pressurised water reactor type nuclear power plant with an electrical output of 170 MW. It is being developed according to a development roadmap, with the goal of completing the standard design by the end of 2025 and obtaining standard design approval in 2028. According to KHNP, it requires one-third of the investment, and can be constructed in half the time compared with large reactors.

Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft was founded in April this year as a partnership between the municipalities of Aure and Heim, local energy company NEAS and Norwegian nuclear project developer Norsk Kjernekraft to develop a power plant based on multiple SMRs.

In January this year, KHNP signed a memorandum of understanding with Norsk Kjernekraft, agreeing to actively cooperate in sharing information for the introduction of the i-SMR and conducting preliminary feasibility studies on candidate sites.

"We want to build nuclear power in Norway in the same way we built the oil and gas industry – through partnerships with world-leading companies," said Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft CEO Steffen Oliver Sæle. "The collaboration with KHNP, which built the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, is a concrete expression of this strategy."

"Norwegian host municipalities are promoting the introduction of SMR technology to strengthen the local economy and secure energy supply," said Seungyeol Lim, Vice President of International Business Development at KHNP. "KHNP is currently conducting a feasibility study together with Norsk Kjernekraft for an i-SMR project adapted to local conditions, with the aim of further developing it into a commercial project.

"It is particularly worth noting that this is the first i-SMR project to receive support from Korea Eximbank's international feasibility study programme, which gives the initiative great significance."

In a joint statement, the mayors of Aure and Heim said: "We welcome the interest of a global player like KHNP to our region. Together with the business community and our energy partner NEAS, we want to create a regional power surplus that enables the green industry of the future."

Norsk Kjernekraft aims to build, own and operate SMR power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry. It says it will prepare licence applications in accordance with national regulations and international standards. It will follow the International Atomic Energy Agency's approach for milestones, and focus on what creates value in the early phase. Financing will take place in collaboration with capital-strong industry and solid financial players.

Aure and Heim is one of four possible locations for a nuclear power plant that Norsk Kjernekraft has announced, the other municipalities being Vardø, Øygarden and Halden.

Norsk Kjernekraft submitted a proposal to Norway's Ministry of Energy in November 2023 for an assessment into the construction of an SMR plant in a common industrial area - the Taftøy industrial park - in the border area between Aure and Heim in Trøndelag county. The plant is planned to consist of several SMRs, with a total generating capacity of up to 1500 MWe, if the plant is realised in its entirety. In April this year, the Norwegian government commissioned several agencies to develop an Environmental Impact Assessment programme for the proposed SMR power plant.