A turbine from the Czech Republic is also supposed to help the Koreans succeed in the nuclear tender

“Our offer for several blocks is very attractive,” Harry Chang, vice president of the KHNP project office for the Czech Republic, told Novinkám.

The fact that the Korean engineering giant Doosan Enerbility bought Pilsen-based Škoda Power in 2009 should also contribute to its success. “And in case of our success, it will supply the turbine, which will therefore be manufactured in the Czech Republic,” added Chang.

This is one of the largest parts of the power plant. According to ENA analyst Jiří Gavor, its price can reach up to billions of crowns.

Doosan Škoda Power will supply the turbine, which will therefore be manufactured in the Czech Republic

Both the Koreans and the French submitted bids for the construction of nuclear blocks

Economy

Another participant in the competition, the French EDF, has a strong position, according to Gavor, because they build reactors in Europe and France has an important say in the European Union. In addition, President Emmanuel Macron recently came to speak on behalf of the energy company.

“Therefore, I expect that the Korean side will offer a better price,” Gavor told Novinka.

More blocks cheaper

The head of KHNP Jooho Whang confirmed the statements of Czech politicians that the price will be lower when more blocks are built. Because of this, the government and ČEZ changed the tender specifications at the end of January, which was originally for one block in Dukovany with a non-binding option for three other blocks. The cabinet invited companies to submit binding offers for up to four blocks.

“Compared to building just one block, there are economies of scale in building multiple blocks, which we can guarantee,” Whang said.

He also said the firm is ready to build the nuclear units on schedule and on budget. “KHNP has built 35 nuclear units in the last fifty years, including four in the inhospitable conditions of the desert. We have experience with the construction of nuclear power plants on the set dates and with the agreed budget,” he declared.

The company is now preparing the commissioning of a 1,400 MW unit in Seoul, South Korea, and wants to complete it in October. Another block should be ready twelve months later. Four thousand people work on the construction site every day.

In the quarter, France produced the most nuclear energy in three years

Economy

The new generation of APR reactors, which the company offers to the Czech Republic, has an extended lifespan from forty to sixty years and a 100% digital control room. The capacity of the spent nuclear fuel pool has increased from forty to sixty years.

For the block in the Czech Republic, unlike Korea, where nuclear power plants are located by the sea, cooling towers will be needed. According to Whang, the company verified that there is enough water in the Dukovany location to cool up to two new reactors.

Questions about the workforce

According to Whang, the bottleneck during construction could be the availability of labor in the Czech Republic. “Unemployment in the Czech Republic is very low, and we think that the main problem will be enough employees. Local employees will be a priority for us. If there was a shortage of them, we would look for workers from the surrounding countries, and if even that were not enough, we can use fifteen thousand of our own employees during construction,” he explained.

KHNP cooperates with two hundred Czech subcontractors and, according to Whang, guarantees at least sixty percent involvement of Czech companies. EDF talks about at least 64 percent and gives as an example Hinkley Point in Great Britain, where it has achieved such use by local companies. “In the Czech Republic, the number will be the same or even higher,” said EDF Vice President Vakis Ramani.

Nuclear fuel is produced by KHNP’s parent company, Kepco, in the city of Tejon. While there are 241 fuel assemblies in the APR 1400 reactor, the APR 1000 block offered for the Czech Republic is to have 177 of them. Each Hiper16 type fuel assembly includes 236 rods in which about three hundred pellets with enriched uranium are placed.

One pellet with a height of less than a centimeter and a weight of five grams produces about 1,800 kilowatt hours of electricity, which would be enough for a typical household in the Czech Republic for seven months of consumption.

According to Jeong-yeup Lee from Kepco, the fuel would be transported to the Czech Republic by ship and train. In total, it would take about two months to transport the nuclear fuel from Korea to Dukovan.