Doosan Enerbility audits Czech manufacturers for Dukovany nuclear plant

Doosan Enerbility inspected manufacturing lines across four Czech industrial suppliers on Nov. 11, 2026, advancing technical audits to localize critical equipment production for the Dukovany nuclear expansion project.

The South Korean engineering company supplies the primary reactor loop, steam generators and heavy forgings for export nuclear plants. It is building local manufacturing ties to satisfy regional industrial content requirements in Prague.

The Dukovany expansion project covers the construction of two 1,000-megawatt reactors designated units 5 and 6, valued at roughly 26 trillion won ($18.8 billion). Sourcing localized components helps mitigate trade and regulatory risks.

Doosan Enerbility already allocated 320 billion won ($230 million) in steam turbine and turbine control system contracts to its Czech subsidiary Doosan Škoda Power, securing an initial industrial anchor in the country.

Field assessments conducted Nov. 2 through Nov. 5 centered on Škoda JS at its corporate headquarters in Plzeň. The inspection team reviewed design verification, manufacturing protocols and formal quality management systems across multiple workshops.

Škoda JS is a specialized nuclear equipment manufacturer controlled by Czech state power utility ČEZ. It operates independently from Doosan Škoda Power, the steam turbine manufacturer owned by Doosan Enerbility since 2009.

The Czech supplier holds American Society of Mechanical Engineers nuclear accreditation stamps required for safety-critical hardware. Doosan Enerbility evaluated its technical capability to manufacture reactor vessel internals and specialized structural assemblies.

South Korean engineers toured production facilities dedicated to control rod drive mechanisms, which manage core reactivity inside reactor vessels. The technical delegation verified machining tolerances and assembly procedures on active shop floors, the company said.

Auditors also evaluated three regional mechanical fabricators: MICo, BAEST and VÍTKOVICE. Doosan Enerbility examined their production capacity for non-safety-grade balance-of-plant components and audited past delivery performance on commercial European energy infrastructure projects.

Officials presented technical prequalification criteria and formal vendor audit guidelines to the three suppliers. The sessions established performance benchmarks for companies seeking to bid on auxiliary heat exchangers, structural vessels and non-critical piping networks.

Procurement awards for non-safety components will rely on open competitive bidding, the company said. Both Korean domestic vendors and Czech regional manufacturers will face identical criteria covering technical competence, quality assurance and unit pricing.

Doosan Enerbility held executive discussions with project owner Elektrárna Dukovany II during the Plzeň tour. Leadership teams from parent group ČEZ and Škoda JS joined the consultations to align on procurement schedules and engineering interfaces.

The meetings built upon a commercial memorandum of understanding signed at a business partnership forum in Prague in May 2024. That agreement created a bilateral framework to transition preliminary local sourcing discussions into binding delivery contracts.

Czech companies strongly desire to supply primary circuit equipment for the Dukovany build, Škoda JS Chief Executive Karel Bednář said in a statement on social media. His company seeks expanded manufacturing assignments within European projects.

The supply chain reviews followed an Oct. 29, 2026 rupture in construction contracting talks between state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and domestic contractor Daewoo Engineering & Construction. That dispute introduced friction into overall project planning.

Doosan Enerbility continued its equipment manufacturing program despite the construction consortium impasse. Reactor vessel casting, steam generator manufacturing and turbine island supply operate under separate legal contracts distinct from site civil engineering packages.

Localizing component fabrication helps the project navigate regulatory reviews overseen by the State Office for Nuclear Safety, known as SÚJB. Working with certified domestic fabricators reduces licensing hurdles under Czech nuclear construction codes, the company said.

Integrating Czech component fabricators also positions the South Korean vendor for subsequent nuclear reactor tenders in Central Europe. The group intends to utilize the same localized supplier network for future bids on Temelín units 3 and 4.

Primary component manufacturing requires long lead times for heavy ingot forging and specialized heat treatment. Developing local precision machining partners allows Doosan Enerbility to protect delivery milestones against European logistical bottlenecks, the company said.

The corporate notice does not state projected monetary values for subcontracts under consideration, and Doosan Enerbility has not published the list of finalized equipment orders pending further technical evaluations.

Doosan Enerbility plans to hold follow-up technical consultations with Škoda JS in early 2027 to finalize specific component fabrication scopes and quality verification protocols.