April 19, 2024

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Chairman of Export-Import Bank of Korea Yoon Hee-sung (left) and CEO of NuScale Power John L. Hopkins pose for a photo during a signing ceremony held in Rockville, Maryland. (Eximbank)

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with NuScale Power, an Oregon-based nuclear power company, for financial cooperation aimed at expanding the reach of Korean companies in securing overseas orders.

Eximbank Chairman Yoon Hee-sung met with NuScale Power CEO John L. Hopkins to sign the contract at NuScale’s office in Rockville, Maryland.

NuScale Power, which specializes in small modular reactor, or SMR, technology, is a company in which several Korean companies have invested after it received design certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This has made it a key player for Korea’s ventures into overseas SMR business.

Eximbank’s role as an intermediary financial supporter entails providing customized financial services catered to the various types of transactions that are set to take place between NuScale Power and Korean companies, such as export transactions and joint overseas investments, the bank explained.

At the meeting, Yoon and Hopkins also discussed key topics regarding the new partnership, including Eximbank’s financial system and strategies and NuScale Power’s investment plan and business overview.

Both officials expressed their anticipation for the collaboration.

“In addition to the continued investments of our Korean partner companies, financial support from Eximbank will help NuScale Power in our mission to provide eco-friendly and economically efficient nuclear power in an era of transition to eco-friendly energy,” Hopkins said.

To this, Yoon added, “We expect this memorandum to serve as a push for our financial support of real-life SMR test operations to be carried out by NuScale and its Korean partners.”

This deal had been in the works since April last year when NuScale Power executives visited Eximbank’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul to discuss running real-life test operations of SMR prototypes in preparation for commercialization.

By Yu Ji-soo (jisooyu123@heraldcorp.com)