Light water SMR development status in Korea

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are being highlighted as carbon -zero energy sources to complement the intermittent nature of renewable energy in the global energy sector. South Korea, one of the world's most prominent nuclear energy countries, has been actively pursuing SMR technology development for the past two decades. The light water SMR R&D programs in Korea with their design characteristics are described in this paper. SMART adopts advanced design features to enhance safety, reliability, and economic efficiency. During the standard design approval project, detail design with advanced design features was completed and key technologies were validated. The design configuration incorporates inherent safety features and passive safety systems to enhance safety and reliability. The advanced design features of SMART have been verified through a comprehensive technology validation program, which includes safety and performance tests. KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company (KEPCO E&C) has been developing its SMR named BANDI for marine floating nuclear power plants. BANDI is a so-called 'block -type' reactor system which has a steam generator (SG) block and a reactor vessel (RV) block which are 'nozzle -to -nozzle' connected to each other without large pipes. The block -type system would give benefits of simpler design and manufacturing, easier surveillance and maintenance, and better scalability. The safety of BANDI is ensured by utilizing fully passive safety systems not requiring any safety grade power sources. In order to promote sustainable development and respond to climate change, the i-SMR has been developed in the Republic of Korea with improved safety, economy, and flexibility compared to existing nuclear power plants. The i-SMR is an innovative small modular PWR producing 520 MW thermal power which has an integral RCS configuration that eliminates large pipes for connection of the major components. The i-SMR has four modules of reactors, and its total electricity is comparable to the conventional fossil power plant. The i-SMR implements design simplification by integrating the primary coolant system and fully passive safety systems without any external safety water injection and safety grade power sources. In order to ensure the high-level performance of load following operation, a boron -free operation is adopted, and a high level of autonomous operation is introduced to reduce the operator load for multi -module operation.