The U.S. nuclear regulatory body on May 1 said it will issue a direct final rule certifying the reactor type as “fully acceptable for U.S. use” for 15 years. “Absent adverse comments, the rule will become effective 30 days following publication in the Federal Register,” the NRC said.
The APR1400 will be the NRC’s sixth certified reactor design. Others include the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, System 80+, AP600, AP1000, and the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor. NRC staff is currently reviewing applications to certify two other designs: the U.S. Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor and the NuScale small modular reactor.
The APR1400 is a two-loop, evolutionary design, pressurized water reactor (PWR), which evolved from the OPR1000 Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant design and Combustion Engineering’s (now Westinghouse) System 80+ design. It was developed for use in South Korea.
Coincidentally, plans were recently announced to build up to 8 new large nuclear plants in the US, which will be a combination of Westinghouse AP1000s and KEPCO APR1400s.
NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”) today welcomed the new strategic framework agreement between the United States Government (“U.S. Government”) and the Republic of Korea (“Korea”) to support the deployment of Westinghouse technology in the United States (“U.S.”).
The framework agreement commits up to $120 billion of investment by Korea to help finance the construction of eight large nuclear reactors in the U.S., including six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors and two Korean APR1400 reactors which also incorporate Westinghouse technology. The reactors will be deployed on federal sites designated by the U.S. Government, using the capabilities and expertise of companies from both countries.
The framework agreement provides a defined pathway to support the construction of eight new reactors in the U.S., including six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors across three two-unit plants on U.S. federal sites. An additional two APR1400 reactors on U.S. federal sites will also be funded as part of the framework agreement, with Westinghouse benefiting from an upfront payment as well as guaranteed scope of work on the reactors, and a contract to provide fuel-fabrication services. Locating this new generation of reactors on federal sites provides a strategic opportunity to support the buildout of the power and compute infrastructure required to meet growing U.S. energy demand, including from AI.
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This is a big plan. We will see if the final scope ends up being so large. But even a few plants would be a good start. The South Koreans built four APR1400s in the United Arab Emirates, which are currently in service. Also, there are APR1400s being constructed in South Korea right now, so the Koreans have experience and expertise.
The APR1400 is somewhat similar to the AP1000 in design. They are both large pressurized water reactors with two steam generators. One big difference, however, is the AP1000 uses passive safety without safety-related pumps or diesel generators. The APR1400 uses the traditional active safety systems that require electric power to work.