South Korea Exports Molten Salt Reactor R&D Technology to Denmark

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) announced on September 4 that it has signed a two-year contract worth USD 2.26 million (approximately KRW 3 billion) with Danish nuclear energy company Saltforce to provide molten salt reactor-related R&D services, covering areas such as nuclear fuel manufacturing, molten salt testing, and material corrosion assessment.

Molten salt reactors are a class of next-generation reactors that typically use high-temperature molten salt as a fuel carrier or coolant medium. Based on the molten salt chemical system, this type of technology is mainly divided into fluoride-based and chloride-based systems. Under the contract arrangement, KAERI will provide key R&D support for the fluoride-based molten salt reactor currently being developed by Saltforce.

The collaboration includes fluoride molten salt pretreatment, nuclear fuel manufacturing and performance characterization, construction and operation of a natural circulation molten salt test loop, and corrosion assessment of candidate structural materials for the reactor in high-temperature molten salt environments. KAERI stated that the contract does not involve the transfer of ownership of its existing molten salt reactor foundational technologies or intellectual property, and the institute will primarily rely on its own technical expertise and research facilities to provide R&D services.

KAERI has long conducted research on high-temperature processing technologies for spent nuclear fuel, accumulating experience in high-temperature molten salt operations, molten salt chemical property evaluation, and the construction of related test infrastructure. Building on this foundation, the institute is collaborating with domestic industry, academia, and research institutions in South Korea to develop MARINA, a chloride-based next-generation offshore molten salt reactor, and has established core technical capabilities in nuclear fuel manufacturing and purification, molten salt chemical and physical property evaluation, and high-temperature material corrosion assessment.

KAERI stated that the significance of this contract lies in extending the technical capabilities developed through its chloride-based molten salt reactor R&D to the fluoride-based molten salt reactor project being advanced by an overseas company. Based on this, the institute plans to expand international cooperation in molten salt reactor fuel, materials, and testing, while continuing to promote related technology exports and commercialization.

KAERI Acting President Lim In-chul stated that this collaboration demonstrates that South Korea's molten salt reactor technologies developed through national R&D projects have gained recognition from an overseas private enterprise. The institute will continue to strengthen core technology development and international cooperation to enhance the competitiveness of these technologies in the next-generation offshore and land-based molten salt reactor markets.