Serbia preparing nuclear, hydrogen deal with South Korea’s KHNP

After contacts with Russia, Slovenia and China regarding nuclear energy and the start of cooperation with France, Serbia is expecting to sign an agreement with South Korean state-owned power utility KHNP, which would involve hydrogen as well. Among other options are joint activities in the segment of small modular reactors.

Like many countries in the Balkans, Europe and beyond that want to build their first or additional nuclear power plants, Serbia is considering the possibilities for such projects. Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy Radoš Popadić, responsible for electricity, visited the biggest nuclear power complex in the world. It is located in Ulsan in South Korea and owned by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP).

The Serbian official got acquainted with the technological and safety standards there, according to the announcement.

An agreement with KHNP on the exchange of knowledge and experiences concerning nuclear energy and hydrogen is expected to be finalized soon, Popadić revealed.

“The Ministry of Mining and Energy has been in contact for some time now with the representatives of KHNP and we are expecting an agreement with prestigious South Korean company KHNP to be finalized soon, regarding the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the nuclear energy segment and hydrogen, having in mind that we actually see nuclear energy as one of the key solutions for Serbia’s secure, stable and low-carbon future. Hydrogen is an energy product of the future and its use is also envisaged in our strategic documents and it is important to exchange knowledge on the application of this technology,” Popadić stated.

The assistant minister stressed that South Korean companies have proven results in the construction of nuclear facilities abroad. He highlighted the Barakah project in the United Arab Emirates, which is led by state-owned KHNP’s parent company Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). Of note, the first of four reactors entered regular operation in September.

The ministry added that Popadić also spoke to his hosts about the possibilities of cooperation regarding projects for small modular reactors (SMRs).

Serbia amended its Law on Energy in November, abolishing a moratorium on the construction of nuclear plants, imposed in 1989.

Nuclear plants are among solutions for price, grid stability, supply security

Participants in the energy markets generally anticipate strong growth in power demand due to the electrification of transport and heating and cooling as well as for future data centers and the needs for artificial intelligence.

The other major factors making the case for nuclear energy are the efforts to make prices affordable, maintain the security of supply and replace baseload energy sources. Namely, coal power plants in Europe are shutting down on a massive scale and the long-term status of fossil gas is still uncertain.

At the same time, there is the meteoric rise in wind and solar power capacity – the operation of such facilities depends on meteorological conditions, so unpredicted variations are frequent. Batteries and other balancing and flexibility solutions mitigate such disturbances affecting the grid, but the pace of their deployment is lagging.

Serbia working on national program for peaceful use of nuclear energy

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met in 2021 with Director General of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corp. Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev. They discussed the possibility of building a nuclear power plant.

Likhachev visited Serbia four months ago, too. He offered help with projects, Rosatom said after he met with Vučić and other state officials. “What we can offer already today is lower than the current prices, and in the long term it will be even more appealing,” the director general stated.

Serbia established cooperation last year with France’s government-owned energy utility EDF. Together with Egis Industries, the company was then selected for the development of a technical study on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović spoke in February with Ambassador of Slovenia Damjan Bergant about the possibilities for bilateral cooperation. The following month, state-owned public enterprise Nuclear Facilities of Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE).