Project for small modular reactors in Ukraine in partnership with U.S., Japan, S. Korea may be implemented in 2-3 years - energy minister

MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax) - A pilot project on employing small modular reactors (SMRs) in Ukraine being launched in partnership with the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea could be implemented within two to three years, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

"The project should assess and demonstrate technical feasibility, economic competitiveness, and possibility of hydrogen and ammonia production and use on industrial scale by employing small modular reactors to obtain clean carbon-free energy," Ukrainian media quoted Galushchenko as saying on a social account on Monday.

The project requires the construction of a pilot installation and a technical and economic review, he said

Findings and achievements of a multinational public-private consortium would be used, in particular, to promote the development of Ukraine's new energy system and speed up its green transition, he said.

The participants will include both leading nuclear companies and research institutions, Galushchenko said. In particular, the U.S. participants will include NuScale, FuelCell Energy, Clark Seed, and Argone National Laboratory, and Ukraine will be represented by the state nuclear power plant operator Energoatom and the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety. Involved in the project should also be Doosan Enerbility, IHI Corporation, JGC Corporation, Samsung C&T, and Starfire Energy.

"I thank U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry for a special project announced at COP 27, in which Ukraine, in partnership with the U.S., as well as Japan and the Republic of Korea, will be engaged in a public-private consortium for scientific and practical developments in the field of small modular reactors," he said.