Nuclear Safety Commission Begins Formal Review of i-SMR...Will Commercial Operation Be Possible by 2035?

Thirteen Items Require Additional Supplementation After Document Review
Key Verification Test Results to Be Submitted by June 2028
External Expert Committee and Commission Deliberation Remain as Variables

The innovative small modular reactor (i-SMR), which is reduced in scale and enhanced in safety compared to conventional large nuclear power plants, has entered the initial stage toward commercial operation.

On the 27th, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission held the 2026-13th Commission meeting in written form and received a report on the review plan from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) regarding the government-led application for a standard design approval for the i-SMR.

The Innovative Small Modular Reactor Technology Development Project Group, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute applied for the i-SMR standard design approval to the Commission on February 27. Standard design approval can be applied for when constructing multiple plants of the same design. If received, future applications for construction and operation licenses with the same design will not require separate reviews.

KINS conducted a compliance review of the standard design approval application documents and found that 13 items require additional supplementation from the operator. However, it was also determined that the documents are generally sufficient to proceed with a safety review, and thus set up a review plan. While some documents remain incomplete, KINS intends to initiate the main review process.

The applicants have agreed to submit the supplemented documents by June 2027. In addition, results of major verification tests are planned to be submitted by June 2028. An official from the Commission explained, "The processing period for the standard design approval review is 24 months under current law, but the actual completion time may vary."

The periods for supplementing and revising the documents, as well as the time taken for safety verification experiments, are not included in the official review period calculation. Therefore, the review period could become longer than originally planned. After the KINS safety review is completed, the application must undergo evaluation by an external expert committee before final deliberation by the Commission.

The i-SMR Technology Development Project Group aimed to obtain standard design approval by 2028 and commence commercial operation of the first unit in 2035. However, this schedule could be postponed from the design approval stage.

For nuclear power plant construction, approvals for standard design, construction, and completion must be obtained separately. To achieve commercial operation by 2035, a construction license application must be submitted in 2029, and groundbreaking should occur in the early 2030s. However, securing standard design approval allows the construction licensing process to be significantly shortened.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power selected Gijang in Busan as the site for South Korea's first SMR construction in June.

The Commission maintains that it will thoroughly verify safety regardless of the plans of the government or Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. An official from the Commission stated, "During the review process, the focus will be on safety assessments of the i-SMR's modular design and passive safety systems, and we will rigorously verify that the approval criteria required by law have been met."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.