How France’s dashed ‘nuclear renaissance’ complicates Korea’s reactor export ambitions

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How France’s dashed ‘nuclear renaissance’ complicates Korea’s reactor export ambitions

Published: 07 May. 2025, 17:59 Updated: 07 May. 2025, 19:47

PARK EUN-JEE
[email protected]

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The logo of Electricite de France (EDF) is seen in front of cooling towers at the entrance of the nuclear power plant site, in Civaux, France, March 19, 2024. [REUTERS]

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

The Czech government's selection of a Korean consortium to build nuclear reactors was hit with a second reversal attempt when France's state-run EDF filed for an injunction with the Regional Court in Brno.

The effort partially paid off, as the court temporarily halted the signing of an $18 billion contract between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Czech utility company CEZ on Tuesday in a procedural decision.

The serial legal action, initiated last April following the announcement of Korea as a preferred bidder, encapsulates the desperate efforts of EDF to gain export momentum on its home continent. EDF is an electric utility supplier wholly owned by the French government and considered a key player in France’s initiative to revive nuclear power, dubbed a nuclear renaissance.

The Paris-based company has cried foul over the tender process and competitive disadvantage over price, while both Seoul and Prague have issued denials and reiterated fairness. The Czech competition authority, UOHS, ruled in favor of the two governments in the first round of the appeal lodged by the French firm.

The challenge, however, inadvertently underscored EDF’s vulnerability to cost overruns and schedule delays, a shortcoming it has faced both in France and in markets like Britain.

For Korea, the postponement came at a precarious moment, with the absence of high-level leaders like a president and prime minister.

What is at stake

The vigorous opposition not only stems from the fact that EDF competed with the KHNP-led consortium in the Czech bidding, but fear that the contract could set a symbolic precedent for Korea’s nuclear power expansion into Europe.

“When it comes to nuclear power-related permits and approvals in the Czech Republic, many involved are French,” said a source with knowledge of the matter.

“Given it has had a tight grip on nuclear projects in both the Czech Republic and Europe as a whole, the sudden entry of Korea must come as an unpleasant shock,” the source said.

For the Korean company, the deal would mark its first nuclear power export in Europe, should the procedure go as planned. In 2009, it won a 20 trillion won contract with the United Arab Emirates to construct four nuclear reactors in Barakah.

Both Korea and France have expressed interest in Finland, Sweden and Britain, leaving potential bids open.

Blocking at all costs

EDF’s challenge came at a time when the energy company is struggling to restore trust at home and abroad.

A view shows the cooling towers and the reactors of the EDF nuclear power plant in Cattenom, France, February 14, 2022. [REUTERS]

Its landmark project to build six nuclear plants in France has been stalled, due primarily to rising costs on a delay in the operation timeline to 2038 from 2035.

In Britain, it has also struggled to proceed with the projects at Hinkley Point and Sizewell because of cost overruns, while the French firm Areva, whose nuclear reactor business was sold to EDF in 2017, failed to stick to the schedule in Finland, resulting in costs triple the initial estimate.

“EDF is holding onto the bid desperately because its projects are criticized for being delayed and expensive,” said Chung Bum-jin, a nuclear engineering professor at Kyung Hee University.

As for the legitimacy of the Czech decision, the fact that Korea was selected speaks for itself in terms of proving transparency.

“If you think about it, if Westinghouse in the United States, a contender with stronger diplomatic backing, had won, there might be some room for doubt. But it was KHNP, which has the weakest political influence, that won the bid,” Chung said.

Jeong Yong-hoon, a nuclear engineering professor at KAIST, echoed the view.

“EDF is already struggling to meet deadlines for its local projects, and if it fails to secure export deals now, it could fear getting shut out of the global market,” the professor said.

“It seems like a mix of a genuine desire to win contracts and a touch of death throes,” Jeong said.

But any uncertainty surrounding the big deal is adding pressure on Korea, as the country faces an unprecedented leadership vacuum.

“It shows the limits of our diplomatic influence,” Chung said, “Even if we win on the technical front, we keep struggling with the nontechnical aspects [like diplomacy], which is something we need to strengthen at a national level.”

BY PARK EUN-JEE, CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]