Cutting a Brilliant Figure on Korean and Overseas Fronts

Doosan is recognized for its capability as a supplier of key nuclear power equipment

The following are excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and Kim Ha-bang, senior vice president of Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Nuclear Power Plants Business Group.
Question: Will you speak to our readers about the current status of Nuclear Power Plants Business Group of Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction?
Answer: Doosan, Korea’s only major nuclear equipment supplier, has done its part as a key player in the domestic nuclear power industry as it has undertaken the construction of a majority of Korean nuclear power plants since the Yonggwang Nuclear Units 3 & 4. Doosan, a supplier of major nuclear equipments including reactor vessels, steam generators, balance of plant and casks, has taken the lead in Korea’s technological self-reliance thanks to its continuous development of technology.
The Nuclear Power Plants Business Group, with the vision “Global Champion in manufacturing nuclear power major equipments” achieved a record high performance in 2008 by posting 1 trillion won in orders won and 500 billion won in sales. Despite the global economic downturn, the business group is forecast to sustain its growth. The business group is headquartered in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, with a plant churning out major equipments, and an instrumentation & control (I&C) factory in Yongin supplying its Man Machine Interface System (MMIS). Currently, about 700 executives and staff members work at sites in Seoul, Changwon and Yongin.
Q: Will you tell our readers about the experiences and expertise Doosan has acquired in the nuclear power field?
A: Doosan is the nation’s only manufacturer of major equipments of nuclear power plants such as reactor vessels, steam generators and pressurizers. The localization of these systems started with production based on technologies imported from U.S. Combustion Engineering in the 1970s. Doosan raised the localization rate of nuclear power equipment production technology surging to a range of 60 percent during the promotion of localization period in the 1980s and 95 percent during the technology self reliance period in the 1990s. Doosan started its role as the main contractor with Younggwang units 3&4 supplying equipments to the first Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) which is now known as OPR1000. The company, maintaining its role as the main contractor, has so far supplied equipments to eight nuclear power plants including Ulchin Nuclear Units 3~6, Younggwang units 5&6. It is now working on the production of major equipments of Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 1 & 2 and Shin-Wolsong Nuclear Units 1 & 2, an upgrade version of OPR1000.
With experience gained from application of copied replication technologies Doosan has acquired independent technology in the field of nuclear equipment manufacturing. In collaboration with other nuclear related organizations Doosan has developed APR1400, the next-generation 1,400MWe nuclear power plant, and is now manufacturing major equipments for Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 3 & 4. Doosan is working on the localization of MMIS and reactor coolant pump (RCP), which has to date been supplied by Westinghouse of the United States, under a government-financed task, for achieving full self-reliance in the nuclear power technology sector.
Q: Will you elaborate on the achievements Doosan has so far made in the nuclear power generation field and its prospects?
A: Doosan has made a strong showing in the business of manufacturing replacement equipments for plant life extension in the United States since September 1999 when it landed an order to supply replacement steam generator of Sequoyah Nuclear Power Unit 1. Doosan has been recognized for its capability to produce major nuclear power equipment as it continued to land orders for replacement steam generators and reactor vessel closure heads from the United States, one of the global nuclear powerhouses. These led to Doosan’s signing of deals to supply major equipments for the advanced nuclear power plant Generation III+ AP1000™ to the United States and China. Doosan has secured its competitive edge by landing an order in China as the first supplier of major equipments for the AP1000™ units in 2007. Furthermore the company has signed contract for technology transfer to support China’s localization goals and is strengthening its relationship with Chinese local companies. Doosan is currently striving to augment its position in the China nuclear market by creating joint ventures with the local companies. Doosan has cut a prominent figure in the domestic and overseas front, sweeping up orders on the first six AP1000™ units in the United States, which resumed construction of new nuclear units in 2008 for the first time in over 30 years, received orders from Japan in both 2007 and 2008 to supply casks, orders for replacement steam generators for Ulchin Nuclear Units 1 & 2 in 2008, and orders for major equipments for Shin-Ulchin Nuclear Units 1 & 2 in 2009. Doosan’s achievement of such orders in recent years is the result of global recognition of Doosan’s capability and 30 years of experience in nuclear equipment manufacturing field. Capitalizing on such recognition, Doosan is putting more energy into exploring foreign markets and diversifying its product portfolio.
Nuclear power has emerged as a real alternative answer to respond to climate change and each country’s move to legislate restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, ushering in a nuclear power renaissance. The United States and China are pushing ahead with the construction of new nuclear power plants, and some countries in Europe, previously opposed to the construction of nuclear power plants, are now planning for the construction of new plants. China, which has 11 nuclear power units in operation, plans to raise its current nuclear power generation capacity of 9GWe to 40GWe by 2020 and 160GWe by 2030. Figures released recently showed that China has a plan to build nuclear power units with a combined capacity of 70GWe, equivalent to about 70 1000MWe units by 2020 and the United State looks to secure 39GWe capacity, equivalent to 30 nuclear power units. Thus, the global nuclear power market is forecast to expand, and Doosan, one of a few major nuclear power equipment suppliers in the world, is expected to keep growing in the years to come.
Q: Will you touch on the status of thermal power and other business arenas and R&D and technology development?
A: Doosan, a thermal power plant equipment maker and engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) leader, has a track record of supplying equipment for thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 96,000MW globally. The company now owns original technology for Boiler and Turbine manufacturing by acquiring the boiler maker Mitsui Babcock in 2006 and the turbine maker Skoda Power in 2009. Doosan is increasing its efforts to expand its global capacity by securing an overseas production center with the inauguration of the Doosan Vina plant in Vietnam.
Doosan boasts of the global No.1 position in the desalination field by acquiring three major desalination technologies ― multi-stage flash (MSF), multi-effect distillation (MED) and reverse osmosis (RO). In 2008, Doosan signed an MOU on engineering services in the water treatment field with American water treatment company Carollo Engineers to expand its business horizon to water treatment as part of its efforts to evolve into a global water plant leader.
Doosan has global technological leadership in the casting & forging field with massive manufacturing facilities in Korea and Romania. Doosan makes casting and forging products for shipbuilding, power generation and general industries and excels in all areas including the quality of materials, features and configuration. Its five world-class products include the crank shaft, plastic mould steel, work roll, stern frame and hydro electric mill.
Doosan looks to explore technologies of reducing CO2 emissions and to establish its presence in the clean energy generation technology field in the low-carbon era. In this regard, Doosan is developing carbon capture and storage technology in cooperation with Doosan Babcock. In particular, Doosan has owned the post-combustion capture (PCC) process technology by investing in HTC of Canada, a leader in the PCC area. The company is in the process of developing a molten carbonate fuel cell system for generating 300kW of electricity, and it embarked on the development of the world’s first MW-class hybrid fuel cell solution.
Doosan has already developed a 2MW-class sea windpower system and is currently conducting its performance tests. Doosan will be global leader with introducing its own WinDS3000 wind power model in the wind power market by 2010.
Q: Will you explain your company’s management vision and mid- and long-term development strategies?
A: Doosan contributes to the supply of water and electricity to the world with supplying nuclear, thermal and other power plants as well as desalination plants.
We strive to step up profitability in the power generation EPC, water, construction and other businesses through elaborating business systems. Since starting the power generation EPC projects in 2004, Doosan has successfully entered into the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and other major markets by aggressively carrying out high-profit projects. Those countries have now become major markets for Doosan. To become a global leader in power and water, a successful execution of EPC projects is necessary. As a result, Doosan’s bid to acquire EPC execution capability in order to build a solid growth foundation is to be an invaluable task for us in the next few years to come.
We plan to enhance our technological power in order to become a global leader in the fast-growing low-carbon and new & renewable energy markets. Doosan has already built up the technology to construct an experimentation plant on CCS through two years of collaboration with Doosan Babcock. Our goal is to step on the gas in the R&D area in order to get a jump-start in the new and renewable energy solution markets. nw

Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, synonymous with history of Korean nuclear power industry, is a global major player of steam generators and other equipments for nuclear power units.