South Korea's Hyundai Engineering has signed memorandums of understanding with two US advanced reactor developers, NANO Nuclear Energy and ARC Clean Technology, as part of its push into the global small modular reactor market, World Nuclear News reported on October 28.

The NANO Nuclear agreement centers on the KRONOS MMR, a 45 megawatt thermal, 15 megawatt electric high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor that uses TRISO fuel and a sealed, transportable core. The MoU covers the planned KRONOS project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where a construction permit application was submitted on March 31, 2026. Early work would cover project execution planning, site-related work, procurement, constructability, modularization, logistics and supply chain. Later roles could include architecture and engineering, EPC services and construction management, subject to separate definitive agreements.

The ARC Clean Technology MoU relates to the ARC-100, a 100 megawatt electric sodium-cooled fast reactor with a metallic uranium alloy core, based on Argonne's EBR-II prototype. In August 2026, ARC signed a multi-year framework agreement with Battelle Energy Alliance for a first-of-a-kind ARC-100 deployment at Idaho National Laboratory, including a commercial demonstration plant of about 200 megawatts electric and possible expansion to about 600 megawatts.

Hyundai Engineering says it has completed 254 nuclear projects since establishing its nuclear power division in 1985, including 145 operating plant designs, 32 research reactors and facilities and six SMR technology development projects.

NANO Nuclear CEO James Walker said, "The next phase of advanced nuclear will be defined by execution." The agreements do not commit any party to a definitive contract, and the parties may also explore industrial heat, hydrogen, desalination and maritime applications.

Source: World Nuclear News -- https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/hyundai-engineering-agrees-to-cooperate-with-us-smr-developers