Doosan Heavy signs deal with U.S.-based X-energy

Korea's power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction said Wednesday it has signed a deal with U.S. small modular reactor (SMR)-maker X-energy to design a small SMR based on high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technology.

Under the deal, Doosan Heavy will design X-energy's SMR, an 80 megawatt electric reactor known as the Xe-100, and construct a prototype of the Xe-100, the power plant builder said.

SMRs refer to modules comprised of reactors, steam generators, coolant pumps and pressurizers, which are key components of large-scale nuclear power plants.

The HTGR refers to a reactor using helium as a coolant, whereas the existing reactor uses water as a coolant.

X-energy plans to build a small-sized nuclear power plant with the generation capacity of 320 megawatt electricity, which will consist of four Xe-100s.

Last month, Doosan Heavy said it has decided to invest $60 million to expand its stake in NuScale Power, another U.S. SMR maker.

Doosan Heavy already invested $44 million in NuScale Power in 2019, along with other local investors, and signed a deal to provide core parts to be used for SMRs using water as a coolant.

NuScale Power plans to provide its SMRs to Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, a U.S. electricity provider that has been pushing ahead with a project to build a nuclear power plant in Idaho, with 2029 eyed for commercial operation.

Yonhap