Korean builder looks to advance contract with Fermi America in 1st half of year
Hyundai Engineering & Construction has expanded its role in strengthening Korea-US nuclear power ties, as the Korean builder highlighted its large-scale nuclear power plant capabilities in Texas, the company said Wednesday.
According to Hyundai E&C, it hosted a nuclear power plant technology seminar at The Westin Dallas Downtown to showcase its nuclear power plant-related technologies to representatives from about 100 companies, including key stakeholders in the American nuclear power and construction sectors.
Hyundai E&C said the event served as a platform to enhance partnerships with leading local companies to carry out the four-unit AP1000 nuclear power plant project planned within Fermi America’s Project Matador, an 11-gigawatt private energy campus outside Amarillo, Texas.
According to the Korean builder, the seminar shed light on nuclear construction standards, mechanical installation disciplines, modular construction concepts and procedures, nuclear-specialized construction works, heavy lifting, nuclear plant building and workforce development and training.
“AI-driven growth is accelerating faster than most people realize,” said Mesut Uzman, CEO of Fermi Nuclear, in his congratulatory remarks.
“The next decade will be defined by who can build power infrastructure fast enough to support AI and industrial growth. Hyundai E&C brings the industrial scale and execution discipline needed to deliver significant energy projects like Fermi America’s Project Matador. We see this partnership with Hyundai E&C as a critical step toward rebuilding US energy capacity.”
As the lengthy gap in nuclear construction in the US has weakened the local nuclear workforce and supply chain, Hyundai E&C said it plans to use the technology seminar to advance industry-wide understanding of nuclear power projects and secure close relationships with leading companies to strengthen its local competitiveness.
Following its front-end engineering design, or FEED, contract with Fermi America for the four large-scale nuclear power plants last year, Hyundai E&C has been focusing on site layout planning, cooling system evaluations and cost and schedule estimation. It looks to strike an engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, deal in the first half of this year.
“We hope that this seminar, which shared practical knowledge and know-how across the full range of large-scale nuclear construction disciplines while showcasing Hyundai E&C’s global expertise and technical capabilities, will contribute to increasing participation by leading local construction companies in nuclear power projects,” said a Hyundai E&C official.
“As Hyundai E&C and Fermi America continue ongoing discussions to explore a wide range of cooperation measures, including the pursuit of a large-scale nuclear EPC project, we will strive to go beyond simple project execution and establish a sustainable cooperation framework for nuclear power plant construction in Texas and across the United States.”
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
