DS Danseok said on Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. Nasdaq-listed Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE) on introducing micro modular reactors (MMR) in South Korea and on strategic cooperation. It said the agreement aims to establish a mutual cooperation framework for MMR technology development and commercialisation.

MMRs are easier to install than large reactors and offer higher safety, and can operate as distributed power sources. NNE, which focuses on developing mobile and on-demand small reactors, listed on Nasdaq in May 2024.

The companies will cooperate with a focus on identifying MMR-based business models that can be applied at industrial sites in South Korea. They will build an overall commercialisation framework, including technical reviews, cooperation on licensing and permitting responses, and supply-chain links. They plan to review the possibility of a phased introduction of MMRs in line with changes in the domestic regulatory environment.

DS Danseok will be responsible for executing the business and will flesh out its “One factory One MMR” vision. The strategy is that a single factory runs on a single MMR. The company stressed the agreement is the first cooperation case between a global company holding core MMR technology and a domestic energy company.

James, NNE's chief executive officer, said DS Danseok is a company with an understanding of South Korea's industrial sites and capabilities in the energy business. He said the companies will jointly review domestic application of MMR technology, implement an optimised business model and create a meaningful success case.

Han Seung-wook, chairman of DS Danseok, said the agreement with Nano Nuclear Energy, which he described as unrivalled in next-generation reactor technology, will be an important turning point for implementing carbon-neutral solutions. He said DS Danseok will combine global nuclear power plant technology following the establishment last year of a cooperation framework with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's Central Research Institute and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology, and will gradually expand a carbon-free energy system based on MMRs.