Samsung wins approval for floating SMR

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has developed a design for a floating offshore nuclear power platform capable of mounting various types of small modular reactors (SMRs). SHI said it had obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) from US classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for a floating SMR (FSMR) equipped with two SMART100 reactor units. SMART100 (System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor 100) is an integral SMR developed by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) that received standard design certification from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission in September 2024.

In this conceptual design certification, SHI was responsible for SMR and floating body integration, comprehensive design of nuclear power generation facilities, and development of multi-barrier reactor containment vessels, while KAERI was responsible for converting the land-based SMR SMART100 for offshore use.

South Korea’s Nuclear Safety & Security Commission (NSSC) was granted standard design approval for the SMART100 in 2024. The SMART100 is based on the original SMART design, which was the first SMR to receive standard design approval in 2012. KAERI had planned to build a SMART demonstration plant to operate from 2017 but development was stalled by the absence of any orders for an initial reference unit. SMART is designed for electricity generation (up to 100 MWe) and for thermal applications (330 MWt), such as seawater desalination, with a 60-year design life and three-year refuelling cycle. The pressuriser, cooling pump, steam generator and core are placed inside the reactor pressure vessel.

The FSMR has a compartmental design that functionally separates and groups reactors and power generation facilities. Development of FSMRs with various types of SMRs is possible by changing the design for the compartments where SMRs are installed. The reactor and safety systems, which are core components of floating nuclear power facilities, are modularised within a single containment vessel in the design to enhance safety. Placement of SMRs within containment vessels enables testing on land before shipboard installation, allowing for schedule reduction.

Ahn Young-kyu, head of SHI’s Technology Development Division, said, “This certification is an important milestone for pioneering the offshore nuclear power market. We will secure safe and economical offshore nuclear power technology with the floating technology that Samsung Heavy Industries is proud of.”

Jo Jin-young, director of KAERI’s Advanced Reactor Research Institute, noted: “Obtaining this AIP utilising SMART100 proves the innovation of our nuclear technology. We will accelerate technology development so that Korea can establish itself as a leading country in the marine nuclear industry.”

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