Korea plans indigenous production of gas turbine parts

Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) plans to localize high-temperature parts production and repair engineering technology for gas turbines, which Korea currently imports. KOWEPO and KEPCO KPS have agreed to cooperate in the localization of the latest high-temperature parts production and repair engineering technology at the Seoincheon Power Complex.

Currently, all gas turbines used for power generation in Korea are imported from foreign countries. Core components, high-temperature parts production and repair engineering are also imported during overhauls. Since he took office in March 2018, KOWEPO President Kim Byung-sook has been devoting himself to realizing technology self-reliance through the localization of power generation facilities.

To this end, KOWEPO introduced an exclusive body responsible for the creation of an environment of technology self-reliance through the localization of power generation facilities, easing SMEs’ market entry barriers and procuring reliable Korean-made core parts.

Mr. Kim said: “Massive technology cooperation among power plant, maintenance and research institution circles that has never been attempted so far is expected to mark a watersheds of transforming the ecosystem of the Korean gas turbine repair engineering technology industry, which lags far behind advanced countries.”

KOWEPO has been collaborating with the Electric Power Research Institute of the United States and KEPCO Research Institute since two years to localize the market of latest high-temperature parts production and repair engineering technology whose value is estimated at about 35 billion won annually.

The collaboration project is in a final stage and a test-bed project related to high-temperature parts production and repair engineering technologies will be implemented in the second half of this year.