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SUMMIT KHNP secures partnerships with US nuclear power firms
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power CEO Whang Joo-ho, second from left, poses with Centrus Energy CEO Amir Vexler, second from right, after signing a memorandum of understanding on uranium concentrate investment and expanding their supply deal at the Willard InterContinental Washington, Monday (local time). Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan, left, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also attended the ceremony. Courtesy of KHNP
By Ko Dong-hwan
Trump touts Alaskan energy deposits in summit
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed multiple partnerships with major American energy firms to strengthen the growth of the nuclear power industry in the United States on the sidelines of a summit between the Korean and U.S. presidents in Washington, Monday (local time).
With the signing, the Korean state-run nuclear power technology developer has renewed Korea’s energy diplomacy with the U.S., as U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to gain leverage in his country’s trade with different countries. Nuclear energy, along with liquefied natural gas (LNG) deposited in Alaska, have been Trump’s bargaining chips to attract investments from Korean companies since he began his global tariff war shortly after his inauguration in January.
Following the bilateral summit at the White House, President Lee Jae Myung and Korean companies acknowledged Trump’s overtures by signing five memorandums of understanding with six U.S. energy firms.
KHNP signed four memorandums of understanding with U.S. energy firms at a business roundtable after the summit.
With Centrus Energy, KHNP will invest in uranium concentrate and expand their yellowcake supply deal. Centrus is the only U.S. company approved to produce high-assay, low-enriched uranium for next-generation reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs).
KHNP, X-energy and Amazon will collaborate on SMR development. KHNP and X-energy will research the Xe-100 SMR, while Amazon will explore its use in cloud and data operations. Doosan Enerbility will provide technology support.
Westinghouse headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa. / Captured from Westinghouse's website
KHNP and Fermi America, with Samsung C&T, will build a 10-gigawatt power plant and AI energy center in Texas combining SMRs, conventional reactors, combined-cycle power and solar. The project is called the AI Campus Project.
“A nuclear power partnership between Korea and the U.S. is essential for the U.S. energy security and carbon neutralization goals. With these MOUs, KHNP’s global competitiveness in the energy market will improve,” said Whang Joo-ho, CEO of KHNP.
In the business roundtable that was hosted by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Federation of Korean Industries, Doosan Enerbility also signed a separate MOU with Fermi America to cooperate on supplying equipment and technologies for nuclear reactors and SMRs for its AI Campus Project.
KHNP is currently considering a joint venture with American nuclear power company Westinghouse. The possible partnership with the key nuclear power technologies holder in the U.S. will likely allow the Korean firm to enter nuclear energy markets in the U.S., Europe and beyond.
However, no discussions on the initiative were held on the occasion of the summit.
“Discussion regarding KHNP and Westinghouse is currently in progress but has not matured enough to share details,” Kim said.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports oil in this June photo. gettyimagesbank
LNG
The business roundtable also saw developments in the LNG sector.
Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) agreed with global energy firms Trafigura and Total Energies on importing 3.3 million tons of American LNG per year for 10 years starting 2028. The industry ministry said this long-term supply deal has secured price-competitive LNG for Korea which will stabilize its domestic market price.
Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, said following the roundtable the two countries will likely advance to discussing terms in detail on how to utilize LNG reserves in Alaska and realize the joint venture between KHNP and Westinghouse.
Trump put Alaskan energy development on the table during the summit with Lee. He said Korea needs the natural gas and oil reserves in the detached northern U.S. state.
"We have the greatest amount of energy in the world and we are dealing with South Korea, as you know, in Alaska," Trump said during the summit. "We are going to be making a deal, a joint venture with South Korea. Japan is also very strongly involved.”
One of the agreements reached last month was on Korea's purchase of $100 billion worth of U.S. energy products, which Korea used to persuade Washington to cut its tariff on Korean imports from 25 percent to 15 percent.