Samsung C&T to participate in basic design of Romania SMR

Samsung C&T Corp., the construction and trading unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, will participate in the basic design of the Romanian small modular reactor (SMR) project.

It has also gained a favorable position for the final EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contract, which will follow in about a year.

Samsung C&T’s construction division announced on Thursday that it had agreed to jointly undertake the front-end engineering design (FEED) of the Romanian SMR project with three global engineering firms: Fluor, NuScale, and Sargent & Lundy of the US.

FEED is the process of establishing pre-project plans such as permits, construction costs, and construction periods. Since the specifications and plans of the project are aligned around the engineering companies participating in FEED, bidding on the main project is considered advantageous as well.

In June last year, Samsung C&T signed a business agreement with five companies, including Romania's Nuclearelectrica (SNN) and US companies NuScale and Fluor.

The goal is to cooperate on the entire Romanian SMR project process and expand business throughout Europe. NuScale is the only company that has received design certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The Romanian SMR project involves replacing a coal-fired power plant in Doicești with a 462 MW SMR. The project has gained momentum with the start of FEED. The goal is to commence commercial operation by 2030. The final EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contract is expected to proceed after about a year of FEED.

Most coal-fired power plants in Eastern Europe will be shut down by 2030. There is an anticipation of orders for similar models to the Romanian SMR project in the future.

Write to Jin-Woo Park at jwp@hankyung.com