KOPEC on a Roll in Plant Design Engineering

Strives to ramp up its presence in foreign markets

Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc. (KOPEC) was established by the government in 1975 to ensure the self-sufficiency of Korea's nuclear power plant design technology. It has come from strength to strength to become an integrated engineering company boasting top-rated technological prowess in all areas of the power industry ranging from nuclear power plant design to thermal power plant design. KOPEC, the world's sole company capable of both the general design of nuclear power plants and reactor system design, the two key sectors of the nuclear power industry, plays a pivotal role in the development of the Korean power industry.
Thanks to the KOPEC staff's strenuous efforts, KOPEC has successfully become self-sufficient in the nuclear and thermal power plant design technology fields in an unprecedentedly short period of time. This has allowed KOPEC to be charged with the general design of a total of 20 nuclear power units including those at Kori, Yongkwang and Ulchin, which have the world's highest capacity ratio and efficiency. It has also developed the next-generation APR 1400 (Advanced Power Reactor 1400) with enhanced safety and economical features, which is being applied to Shin Kori Units 3 & 4, raising the possibility that Korea's own nuclear power technology could be exported abroad.
On the thermal power plant front, KOPEC, armed with seasoned design experiences and excellent technology, is taking the lead in the Korean and global power industries. A total of about 40 thermal power plants, including the Boryeong, Taean and Dangjin Thermal Power Complexes, which were designed by KOPEC, are in commercial operation. These days, KOPEC stands out not only in the thermal power plant sector, but also the PM/CM project and environment fields. Capitalizing on the design and construction management expertise it has obtained while carrying out large-scale power plant projects, KOPEC has successfully undertaken Incheon International Airport and other state project management services.






















KOPEC has obtained a patent for KoNOx(R), a low-temperature denitrification catalyst and system developed with its own technology and was designated as one of the homegrown new technologies by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, and is taking the lead in the construction of environmentally-friendly and green power plants by localizing the denitrification catalyst technology for which power plants and incinerators depend on foreign countries.
In recent years, KOPEC has been aggressively striving to enter the global project market by making the most of the experiences and expertise it has accumulated while carrying out domestic power plant projects. In 2005, KOPEC signed a technology consulting service contract on the so-called NuStart project with Westinghouse of the United States, ushering in an era of full-fledged overseas exploration. In April 2008, KOPEC signed a contract with Westinghouse for the design of the AP 1000 (the latest nuclear reactor developed by Westinghouse). The deal is significant in that the agreement has advanced the method of exporting Korea's nuclear technology from that of dispatching human resources overseas and providing technical services to that of exporting a comprehensive package whereby KOPEC takes charge of the entire process of key nuclear power plant design. It is also noteworthy in that Korea has begun exporting nuclear power plant technology to the United States, which originally transferred its nuclear technology to Korea.
Meanwhile, KOPEC outbid a number of world renowned design companies and won the contract for "the project to improve the design of the Greek GRR-1 research reactor," which was placed by NCSR Demokritos of Greece, opening a beachhead for its advance into the European market, which has unlimited growth potential.
Furthermore, KOPEC will redouble its efforts to develop technology to secure outstanding competitiveness in the global market by further consolidating its cooperative partnerships with electric power companies, including Korea Electric Power Corp.
Given its characteristics as a design engineering company, KOPEC has been giving priority to pushing R&D activities for technology sophistication and nurturing key manpower. This is in keeping with the comprehensive plan on technology sophistication established in 2005. The company is keeping at a steady R&D outlay rate of 10 percent of sales, and it is doing its utmost to secure original technology for power plant design and is beefing up its quality while constantly developing patented new technologies.
The "Dual Ladder" system, designed to nurture working-level officials with excellent expertise into specialists and others with management potential into management experts, is an example of the company's manpower development programs.
Thanks to these efforts, KOPEC boasts an unrivalled pool of excellent and experienced manpower in the power plant design field: out of 1,900 employees, there are 93 employees with doctorates, 457 with a master's degree, 282 with a technician's degree and 479 PE/PMP experts.
KOPEC operates the IPIMS™, an integrated plant information management system developed independently by KOPEC. The IPIMS™ is a powerful computer system that enables the integrated management of all equipment and related design information, design documents, manufacturing documents and three-dimensional design geometry. Recently, computer integrated engineering (CIE) has been introduced to innovate work processes and provide higher levels of technological services that lead to higher economic benefits and safety.
KOPEC is striving to ensure across-the-board change and innovation by establishing mid- and long-strategies in four areas ― business performance for customer satisfaction, business diversification, technology upgrade and management system innovation- with the goal of realizing its long-term vision of becoming a global top-rated technology company giving a preference to the value for customer. nw

KOPEC headquarters

KOPEC President An Seung-kyoo

(clockwise) A delegation from Taiwanese nuclear energy research institutes tours KOPEC headquarters; KOPEC is fitted with the man-machine interface system (MMIS); Yonggwang nuclear power units are designed with homegrown technology; and KOPEC auditor Kim Joo-wan and his staff pose at the KOPEC booth of the 21st North American Meeting held in San Francisco from June 8-11.e