Standard design approval sought for i-SMR

The Innovative Small Modular Reactor (i-SMR) - being developed by a consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) - is an integrated pressurised water reactor type nuclear power plant with an electrical output of 170 MW for both domestic use and export. 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.

Standard design approval can be applied for when repeating the construction of nuclear power plants of the same design, and the information approved through this approval does not need to be included when later applying for a construction/operation permit. The standard design approval is valid for 10 years.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said it received the application for standard design approval for the i-SMR on 27 February.

The NSSC held a review preparation workshop on Wednesday, where future licensing-related issues and schedules were discussed. The workshop was attended by officials from regulatory agencies related to standard design approval review, including the NSSC, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), the Korea Institute of Atomic Energy Control (KINAC), and the Small Modular Reactor Regulatory Research Promotion Group. Developers of the i-SMR, including KHNP and Korea Electric Power Company, also attended to share their preparations and discuss future priority management tasks.

"According to the Nuclear Safety Act and its enforcement decree and other related procedures, application documents for licensing must first undergo a document suitability review to confirm whether they meet the requirements and formats stipulated in the law, and the review can begin only after the document suitability review is complete," NSSC noted. "The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission plans to pursue a thorough and smooth review process in the future in the full-scale review process related to the standard design approval of the i-SMR."

In June 2024, KHNP signed a memorandum of understanding with Daegu Metropolitan City for the construction of a small modular reactor power plant at a high-tech industrial complex near Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport. The MoU included a feasibility study covering site suitability, economic viability, and enhancing resident acceptance, in a bid to build and commercialise a 680 MWe SMR power plant equivalent to the capacity of four 170 MW-per-unit i-SMR modules. Daegu City, in North Gyeongsang Province, said it planned to begin commercial development of the plant in 2033.

KHNP used the COP28 conference in Dubai, UAE, in December 2023 to launch its i-SMR technology and its i-SMR powered Smart Net-Zero City model to international markets. During the event, the company agreed to cooperate with Indonesian and Jordanian partners to investigate the deployment of i-SMR units. It has since also signed agreements to evaluate the use of the reactor in countries including Norway, Sweden and Zimbabwe.