Hyundai Engineering of South Korea Partners with Two U.S. SMR Developers

Recently, Hyundai Engineering of South Korea announced the signing of memoranda of understanding with U.S. small modular reactor (SMR) developers NANO Nuclear Energy and ARC Clean Technology, marking a comprehensive push into the global small modular reactor and Generation IV advanced nuclear reactor markets.

Under the cooperation framework with NANO Nuclear, Hyundai Engineering will integrate its comprehensive capabilities in engineering design, procurement, construction (EPC), supply chain management, and modular construction to jointly advance the KRONOS reactor energy system project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The reactor is a high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor with a thermal power of 45 MW and an electrical power of 15 MW, featuring tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel and a movable core design. Its license application was formally submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in March of this year.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Engineering has also reached cooperation with ARC Clean Technology to participate in the engineering deployment of its 100 MW-class ARC-100 sodium-cooled fast reactor project. In August of this year, ARC signed a framework agreement with the operator of Idaho National Laboratory (INL), planning to build a commercial demonstration plant with an installed capacity of approximately 200 MW at the INL site, with long-term plans to expand to 600 MW. The ARC-100 technology is derived from the classic EBR-II experimental breeder reactor prototype at Argonne National Laboratory and can serve both grid power supply and high-value industrial heat supply.

Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear, and James Walker, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the key to commercializing advanced nuclear energy lies in "execution and supply chain." Joo Woo-jung, Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Engineering, emphasized that by participating in U.S. first-of-a-kind (FOAK) demonstration projects, the company will further consolidate its core service capabilities across the full lifecycle of Generation IV nuclear energy, including high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and sodium-cooled fast reactors.

As a globally renowned engineering and construction giant, Hyundai Engineering has participated in a total of 254 nuclear projects (including 145 commercial nuclear power plant designs, 32 research reactors, and 6 SMR technology development projects) since establishing its nuclear energy division in 1985. This deep partnership with two U.S. advanced reactor developers will provide a strategic pivot for the company to expand its business into diversified nuclear energy application scenarios such as industrial heat supply, hydrogen production, seawater desalination, and maritime propulsion.

This strong alliance between U.S. and South Korean enterprises in the SMR field not only marks a key step for the Korean engineering giant into the Generation IV nuclear technology supply chain and construction sector, but also paves the way for U.S. advanced reactors to move from laboratory design toward standardized, large-scale, and clustered global deployment.