Orano signed a deal with a subsidiary South Korea’s largest nuclear power plant operator to support its nuclear dismantling activities.
Paris-based Orano and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), a subsidiary of the Korea Electric Power Corporation, signed the deal Friday in Gyeongju, Korea, according to a press release.
Through the deal, Orano will have access to KHNP’s engineers and providers of nuclear engineering services, according to the statement. The two companies could also collaborate on technical studies looking to answer questions surrounding spent fuel storage, including elements of the process that could be automated.
“KHNP and Korean domestic partners will have [the] chance to participate in Orano’s decommissioning projects in France, and Orano’s accumulated experience will be [a] very valuable asset to Korea’s decommissioning project through this agreement,” said Yoon-Ho Kim, executive vice president of KHNP’s technology and innovation division. “I have no doubt that it will serve as the foundation for strengthening cooperation in decommissioning businesses between Korea and France.”
Terms of the contract were not public at deadline for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
South Korea has 24 nuclear reactors in operation. Orano has its own subsidiary in the country, Orano Korea Limited. In 2017, KHNP and Orano signed an agreement establishing a framework of cooperation on dismantling projects.