HD Hyundai accelerates maritime nuclear development with TerraPower

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai, has held its first technology exchange meeting with TerraPower and Core Power for the development of next-generation small modular nuclear reactor.

The meeting was held at TerraPower’s headquarters in Washington and development will centre of TerraPower’s Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) design.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said that it expects this joint research to speed up the development of the offshore and maritime nuclear power market.

The Korean shipbuilder will send an R&D team to TerraPower in March to continue development research with the partners for various fields including maritime. HD Hyundai invested $30 million in TerraPower in November 2022.

Commenting on the development Core Power, CEO Mikal Boe, told Seatrade Maritime News: 'Adding Hyundai’s world-class expertise in shipbuilding and process engineering and Core Power's 60 plus shareholders from the maritime and energy industries illustrates how the shipping industry is moving towards a net-zero future with new nuclear solutions. With two strong maritime partners on the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) development team we aim to accelerate the development programme for the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor.”

Related:Core Power hits $100m funding milestone for experimental reactor

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering also plans to actively join the establishment of a system for the application of marine reactors with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and major classification societies ABS and Lloyd’s Register.