Toronto, ON - September 12, 2023 – Kinectrics, a global provider of nuclear lifecycle services, and KEPCO KPS, a company specializing in power generation maintenance, have joined forces to develop equipment to support the decommissioning of CANDU (pressurized heavy water) reactors.
On September 4, Kinectrics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KEPCO KPS at their Naju headquarters in South Korea, which will leverage both companies’ knowledge and experience working with CANDU reactors to help develop tooling and strategies related to decommissioning. Initially, the focal point will be to support decommissioning of Unit 1 at Wolsong NGS.
With the signing of this memorandum of understanding, KEPCO KPS and Kinectrics have agreed to establish a variety of business models that target designing, manufacturing, testing & commissioning, training and deployment of tooling and other equipment for decommissioning of CANDU reactors, as well as jointly marketing the technology developed around the world.
We are excited about the opportunity to further expand on our existing relationship with KEPCO KPS and collaboratively develop technologies that support the first major CANDU decommissioning initiative. These technologies and this direct experience will then be utilized by both parties to help safely and effectively decommission similar reactors in the future.
KPS is responsible for the maintenance and servicing of KHNP’s conventional and nuclear generating stations. Given our highly skilled workforce, training and mock-ups, decommissioning is a logical extension of our activities. We chose Kinectrics as a partner given their expertise in decommissioning planning, and development of reactor tooling.
Kinectrics is the category leader in providing lifecycle management services for the electricity industry. Trusted by clients worldwide, our expertise in engineering, testing, inspection, and certification is backed by our independent laboratory and testing facilities, a diverse fleet of field inspection equipment and an award-winning team of over 1,200 engineers and technical experts. From initial design and type testing to operational deployment and maintenance services, Kinectrics collaborates closely with customers to ensure that utility assets perform safely, reliably and efficiently throughout their entire lifecycle.
KEPCO KPS is a world-class plant service provider responsible for high-quality maintenance of power facilities (nuclear, thermal, hydro), power transmission/transformation facilities and industrial facilities. It plays a major role in preventing unplanned failure and increasing throughput of facilities by faithfully carrying out maintenance during pre-commissioning, outage service, ordinary maintenance and decommissioning of nuclear power plants in the Republic of Korea. KEPCO KPS is also expanding its business scope to overseas with a scheduled business presence in 25 countries.
