Changwon City Advances SMR Industry Support System
Changwon City in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, is advancing a local nuclear industry support system centered on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), and will formulate its first mid-to-long-term nuclear industry plan. Changwon City announced on August 5 that it plans to conduct consulting services for the "Changwon City Nuclear Industry Development Plan (2027–2030)" from October this year to April next year. The project, with a budget of 45 million KRW, will be entrusted to the Changwon Industry Promotion Agency, focusing on systematically supporting the local nuclear industry and improving the relevant institutional framework. The "Changwon City Nuclear Industry Promotion and Support Ordinance," which underpins this effort, was enacted in 2023. South Korea has recently designated SMRs as one of its national strategic directions. In February of last year, the South Korean government proposed in the "11th Basic Plan for Power Supply and Demand" to achieve commercialization of a 0.7 GW-class SMR demonstration unit by 2035. Meanwhile, the "Special Act on SMRs," passed by the National Assembly, is expected to take effect next month. On the 4th, the government also revised the "Special Tax Limitation Act" and its enforcement decree, designating SMRs with an output of 300 MW or less, as well as Micro Modular Reactors (MMRs) of 20–30 MW class and below, as national strategic technologies. In addition to existing projects, Changwon City also plans to conduct research on "Strategy Formulation for an SMR R&D Special Zone" in cooperation with relevant agencies. The city hopes to create synergies with the "Changwon Second National Industrial Complex," which is currently attracting investment, and to promote the establishment of an SMR industry manufacturing hub. Changwon City is home to Doosan Enerbility and its cluster of partner companies, with Doosan Enerbility being one of South Korea's major manufacturers of nuclear power plant key components. In terms of infrastructure, the "Gyeongnam Nuclear Industry Comprehensive Support Center," which provides office space for businesses, broke ground in February of last year and is scheduled for completion in September next year; the "Small Modular Reactor Robot Manufacturing Support Center," which will handle R&D support and workforce training, is planned for completion by December 2028; and the "Small Modular Reactor Manufacturing Parts Testing and Inspection Support Center," which received national funding in April of last year with a budget of 27.4 billion KRW, is currently undergoing conceptual architectural design and is scheduled for completion by December 2029.
2026-08-06
