Doosan Skoda Power plays vital role in global nuclear supply chain

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Doosan Skoda Power plays vital role in global nuclear supply chain

Published: 12 May. 2025, 11:00

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An employee inspects rotors at Doosan Skoda Power's turbine manufacturing factory in Plzen, Czech Republic. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

PLZEN, Czech Republic — Three technicians clung to a thunderous rotor, securing turbine blades one by one — each piece bolted carefully into place amid the roar of industrial machinery at a factory in a town nestled in a quiet Czech suburb.

Doosan Skoda Power, a steam turbine maker and one of the Czech Republic's industrial icons, is a critical player in the global nuclear supply chain — one tied to the elite group of six countries capable of developing and exporting nuclear reactor technology, including Korea.

It’s also the major supplier to a $18 billion nuclear project won by a Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)-led consortium to build two reactors in Dukovany, though the deal's conclusion that was initially expected for last week has been postponed indefinitely due to a court decision pushed by rival bidder France’s EDF.

Employees inspect rotors at Doosan Skoda Power's turbine manufacturing factory in Plzen, Czech Republic. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The blade arrangement in turbines is not only visually striking but also reflects the highly advanced technology behind it. The rotor must spin at a speed of Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, completing 3,600 rotations per minute for over 15 years, requiring an immense level of durability, with tolerances that must remain under 0.02 millimeters — about a quarter of the thickness of a human hair. Even minute deviations can result in severe malfunctions, including blade collisions with the casing that may cause extensive damage.

“Today, around 90 percent of Doosan Skoda Power’s production is exported; we are not a big-sized company, but one of the few that holds rare but critical technologies for nuclear plants,” said Doosan Skoda Power CEO Lim Young-ki during a press tour to the factory on Thursday.

Founded in 1869, Skoda Power was acquired by Korea’s Doosan Enerbility in 2009 for 660 billion won ($472 million). A total of 989 employees work for Doosan Skoda Power now; all but four were locally hired. A research and development center for advanced development is also located on the factory site.

The company was listed on the Prague Stock Exchange in February, where ownership of Doosan was reduced to 67 percent from 100 percent.

At the heart of the 11,000-pyeong (36,363 square meter) factory sits a technical training center, designed to engage and educate local students from the city. As they grow and develop skills, many become technicians — and eventually join the work force at Doosan Skoda Power.

Doosan Skoda Power's turbine manufacturing factory in Plzen, Czech Republic. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

“Doosan Enerbility also had steam turbine technologies, but all the licenses were vested in big names like GE Power and Siemens Energy,” Lim added. “With the acquisition of Skoda Power, it finally secured technological self-reliance in the field of turbine manufacturing.”

“The Czech government expressed deep gratitude to us when Doosan acquired the company almost two decades ago, saying that it would have gone bankrupt if Doosan had not been there,” Lim added.

Since 1976, when it first supplied turbines for nuclear power, Doosan Skoda Power has delivered 30 turbines to four countries, generating 54 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

But Doosan’s role in KHNP’s deal with the Czech Republic doesn’t stop there as a supplier. The Czech Republic pinpointed the localization as the key reason behind the selection of KHNP and vowed to raise the rate to 60 percent from the initially agreed 30 percent.

Doosan Skoda Power's turbine manufacturing factory in Plzen, Czech Republic. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

“The biggest factor that gives KHNP an upper hand over EDF and Westinghouse is that it has Doosan Skoda Power as a major partner,” Lim said. “With the Dukovany deal, Doosan Skoda will be a bridgehead for Korea’s expanding foothold in Europe.”

If the Dukovany deal is clinched, it will be Korea’s first-ever nuclear power plant export to Europe, currently dominated by France. Construction was scheduled to break ground in 2029, with completion slated for 2036.

Paris-based EDF has challenged the Czech government’s decision to select KHNP as the preferred bidder, filing both a lawsuit and a request for an injunction. Although CEZ, the state-run energy company overseeing the Dukovany project, has said it will appeal to the upper court to nullify the halt, the legal process could delay the signing of a final contract for another one to two years — until the main lawsuit is resolved.

BY SARAH CHEA, JOINT PRESS CORPS [[email protected]]