Designer of nuclear power plants upgrades safety features after Fukushima accident


The tsunami that crippled the Japanese nuclear power plant a year ago led governments around the world to check the safety of their atomic facilities, with some deciding not to build new ones.

KEPCO Engineering and Construction Co., Inc., which designs nuclear, thermal, hydro and combined cycle power plants, reviewed the safety of its nuclear power stations from square one.

“A government-led safety inspection was conducted in six areas such as the safety of structures in case of earthquakes and tsunamis, electric power supply when the plant is flooded, cooling systems and response to major accidents,” An Seung-kyoo, chief executive of KEPCO E&C, said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

“KEPCO E&C drew 50 points for improvement in design and is reflecting them in actual design.”

One of them was extending the protective sea walls around nuclear power stations and installing waterproof doors to prevent flooding.

If these fail to keep the equipment from being damaged or flooded, new technologies will be put into use to supply electricity and lower the temperature of the core of the reactor or the water where spent fuel rods are kept. A core meltdown from overheating leads to the release of radioactive materials.

A system that removes hydrogen and runs without electricity to prevent hydrogen explosions will also be installed as well as exhaust and compression facilities to keep the pressure in the containment vessel from rising.

Upon taking the helm of KEPCO E&C three years ago, the former executive of Hyundai Engineering & Construction has led the state-funded firm’s entrance into overseas markets. He also meets with employees face-to-face every week for better communication.

The company’s sales doubled and operating profit jumped eight-fold over the past three years thanks to robust exports.

“We aim to become one of the world’s top five electric power engineering, procurement and construction companies with annual sales of 5 trillion won by 2020,” An said.

KEPCO E&C’s sales in the years 2009 and 2010 grew due to the construction of Shin-Gori nuclear power station units three and four as well as the atomic power plant order from the United Arab Emirates, according to An.

“In 2011, our revenue surged by nearly 100 billion won from a year ago despite the lack of any major nuclear power plant projects as KEPCO E&C posted its biggest-ever sales in the thermal power plant business. This means a lot because thermal power plants are the core of our overseas EPC business,” he said.

“We are also coveting opportunities for nuclear engineering and procurement projects abroad and plan to diversify our business to brown field investments or independent power producer projects.”

A company makes brown field investments by acquiring existing production facilities to launch new production activity. IPP projects, in which the developer covers everything from EPC to financing and operation, account for 35 percent of the world’s construction project financing market.

With increasing electricity demand in emerging economies in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America, IPP projects are on the rise.

“KEPCO E&C took its first step towards becoming an IPP by agreeing to take part in the construction of a coal-fired thermal power plant in Senegal. We expect to see visible results in the area this year,” An said.

The company has landed a deal to participate in the design and procurement of a thermal power plant in Turkey and its first overseas EPC project for a thermal power plant in Ghana last year.

The Middle East, Africa and the BRICs nations are its most important markets.

“A notable fact is that we are receiving business partnership proposals for thermal power, desalination plants and wind power generation before we begin exploring,” the CEO said.

“I’ve been going on overseas business trips about once a month lately, and I can feel their high expectations for our technology and experience.”

KEPCO E&C targets sales of 1 trillion won this year through winning overseas EPC orders.

Of all its technologies, the company is especially proud of the safety and environment-friendliness of its power generation units.

The APR1400 reactor model applied in the Shin-Gori units three and four and the UAE plant boasts high resistance to accidents and multi-layered safety systems.

KEPCO E&C also developed desulfurization and denitrification facilities, which it is installing in its thermal power plants to reduce pollution.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)