US NRC approves South Korea’s APR1400 reactor design for use in USA

• 5 years ago (2019-05-02)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Nuclear 659

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The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified the APR1400 reactor developed by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP). The APR1400 is a third-generation design.

The NRC said it will certify the reactor type as fully acceptable for US use for 15 years. The NRC said: “Absent adverse comments, the rule will become effective 30 days following publication in the Federal Register.”

The APR1400 is a two-loop PWR, which was developed from the OPR1000 Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant design and Combustion Engineering’s (now Westinghouse) System 80+ design. It was developed for use in South Korea.

KHNP said that the APR1400 has been developed to meet 43 basic design requirements, including: 4000 MW rated thermal power; 60-year lifetime; and lower probabilities of core damage and accidental radiation release than the OPR1000 plants.

The first commercially operational APR1400 came online in January 2016 at Shin Kori 3 in South Korea. Shin Kori 4 achieved first criticality on 11 April, 2019, and is scheduled to be commercially operational in August 2019. Shin Kori 5 and 6 are scheduled to begin commercial operations in March 2022 and March 2023 respectively.

The first of four APR1400 reactors under construction at the Barakah plant in the United Arab Emirates was completed in March 2019, with commercial start-up due by early 2020.