Accelerating Korea’s Energy Transition: A New Balance of Renewable Energy and Nuclear Power by 2025
Editor
A New Turning Point in Korea’s Energy Transition
As of December 2025, Korea’s energy industry stands at the center of unprecedented change. According to the government’s ’10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand,’ the goal is to expand the share of renewable energy generation to 30.2% by 2030, more than tripling from 9.1% in 2024. Simultaneously, the plan to maintain the nuclear power share at 32.8% clarifies a ‘two-track’ strategy pursuing both carbon neutrality and energy security. This policy direction presents new opportunities and challenges for Korean energy companies, particularly driving rapid growth in renewable energy infrastructure and the energy storage system (ESS) market.
Reviewing Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)’s third-quarter 2024 performance, despite the initial cost increase due to expanded renewable energy investments, electricity sales increased by 2.8% year-on-year to 157.2 TWh. This is attributed to the recovery of industrial electricity demand and increased power consumption by data centers and semiconductor manufacturers. In KEPCO’s transmission and distribution sector, smart grid construction investment expanded to 1.2 trillion won in 2024, with 60% focused on building infrastructure linked to renewable energy. Notably, the submarine cable installation project to connect offshore wind farms in Jeju and Jeonnam alone involves an investment of 350 billion won, highlighting KEPCO’s future growth engine.
Hanwha Solutions, one of the most notable companies in the renewable energy sector, recorded a 28% increase in solar module production to 8.2 GW in 2024, corresponding to a 4.1% global market share. The company plans to expand the annual production capacity of its Georgia, USA plant from 2.5 GW to 4.1 GW by the first half of 2025, aiming to maximize the benefits of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Hanwha Solutions’ solar business division’s revenue for the first to third quarters of 2024 accumulated to 4.12 trillion won, a 15.3% increase year-on-year, with an operating profit margin of 8.2%, indicating an improvement in profitability.
In the ESS market, Korean companies are solidifying their global leadership. Samsung SDI recorded a 42% year-on-year increase in ESS battery shipments to 12.8 GWh in 2024, accounting for an 18.7% share of the global ESS battery market. The company further strengthened its presence in the North American market by signing a contract to supply 1.2 GWh of batteries for a large-scale grid-scale ESS project in Texas, USA. Samsung SDI’s ESS business division’s revenue for the first half of 2024 was 1.89 trillion won, accounting for 31.2% of total revenue, playing a dual role alongside the electric vehicle battery business.
LG Energy Solution is also showing strong growth in the ESS market. The company recorded a 38% year-on-year increase in ESS battery sales to 2.34 trillion won in 2024, with order expansion in Europe and Australia being key growth drivers. LG Energy Solution signed a contract to supply batteries for a 300 MW/450 MWh large-scale ESS project in Victoria, Australia, scheduled for completion in the second half of 2025. Additionally, the company signed a 1 GWh ESS supply contract with BayWa r.e., a German renewable energy operator, aiming to expand its market share in Europe.
The Revival of the Nuclear Industry and New Opportunities
Korea’s nuclear industry is reaching a new turning point. Following the government’s policy to normalize nuclear power, the nuclear ecosystem centered around Doosan Enerbility is regaining vitality, showing notable achievements in small modular reactor (SMR) development and overseas orders. Doosan Enerbility’s nuclear division revenue in 2024 increased by 23.7% year-on-year to 4.28 trillion won, driven by the completion of the UAE Barakah Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 and strengthened new nuclear power plant order activities in the Czech Republic. Particularly, with the Korean APR1400 reactor selected as the final candidate for the Czech government’s Dukovany new nuclear construction project, the potential for a large-scale order worth 15 trillion won is increasing.
In the SMR sector, Doosan Enerbility is accumulating technological capabilities through collaboration with U.S. NuScale Power and is accelerating the development of its own SMR model, ‘i-SMR.’ The company invested 89 billion won in SMR-related R&D in 2024, a 45% increase year-on-year. The i-SMR, being developed in joint research with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, is designed with a capacity of 170 MW, aiming for standard design approval by 2028. The global SMR market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 22.3% to reach a market size of 18 billion dollars by 2030, with Doosan Enerbility targeting a market share of over 15%.
Notable changes are also occurring in the nuclear fuel sector. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced that through the commercialization of its self-developed next-generation nuclear fuel ‘PLUS7’ in 2024, it achieved both fuel cost reduction and safety improvement. PLUS7 improves burnup by 15% compared to existing nuclear fuel, extending the fuel replacement cycle, and is expected to save approximately 120 billion won in annual fuel costs. KHNP’s third-quarter 2024 power generation increased by 3.8% year-on-year to 119.2 TWh, with nuclear power accounting for 29.7%, serving as a stable base power source.
Korean companies are also prominent in overseas nuclear power plant order competitions. A consortium of Korea Electric Power Technology (KEPCO E&C) and Doosan Enerbility was selected as a primary preliminary bidder for Saudi Arabia’s new nuclear power plant construction project, a large-scale project with a total project cost of 20 billion dollars. The Saudi government announced plans to expand nuclear power to 15% of the total by 2030, with high evaluations of the safety and economic efficiency of Korean nuclear power plants. Additionally, ongoing nuclear power plant construction negotiations with the Polish government are expected to finalize contracts in the first half of 2025, marking a significant milestone in the overseas expansion of Korea’s nuclear industry with a project size of 6 billion dollars.
Rapid Expansion of Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure
Korea’s electric vehicle market is experiencing rapid growth in 2024. According to the Korea Automobile Mobility Industry Association, the number of new electric vehicle registrations from January to October 2024 was 89,743, an 8.9% increase year-on-year, accounting for 6.8% of total new vehicle registrations. Hyundai Motor Group is leading this market growth, with Hyundai’s Ioniq series and Kia’s EV series capturing a 68.2% share of the domestic electric vehicle market. Hyundai’s third-quarter 2024 electric vehicle sales increased by 14.3% year-on-year to 42,851 units, with the Ioniq 5 surpassing 300,000 cumulative sales, solidifying its position in the global electric vehicle market.
The construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure is also accelerating. According to the Ministry of Environment, as of October 2024, the total number of electric vehicle chargers installed domestically was 285,432, a 31.8% increase year-on-year, with fast chargers accounting for 24,891, or 8.7% of the total. SK Innovation’s charging business subsidiary, SK ElecLink, recorded a 78% year-on-year increase in fast charger installations to 2,847 in 2024, focusing on the distribution of 350 kW ultra-fast chargers. The company aims to install 1,000 ultra-fast chargers nationwide by 2025, reducing electric vehicle charging time from the current 30 minutes to 15 minutes.
The battery swapping business for electric vehicles is also emerging as a new growth driver. Korean startup ADEN opened the country’s first passenger car battery swapping station in Gangnam, Seoul, in 2024, establishing a system capable of battery replacement within three minutes. This method, pioneered by China’s NIO, operates over 2,400 battery swapping stations worldwide, with the market expected to grow to 18.3 billion dollars by 2030. ADEN is discussing battery swapping standardization cooperation with Hyundai and plans to start commercial services from the second half of 2025.
The electric vehicle battery recycling business is also gaining attention. Sungil Hi-Tech completed an electric vehicle battery recycling plant in Cheongju, Chungbuk, in 2024, with the capacity to process 3,000 tons of waste batteries annually. This plant can recover key minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt with a purity of over 95%, and the recovered materials are reused in new battery manufacturing. The global electric vehicle battery recycling market is expected to grow from 18.4 billion dollars in 2024 to 35.2 billion dollars by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 11.4%, and Korean companies are enhancing their competitiveness in this market based on their technological capabilities. LG Chem plans to start constructing a battery recycling plant in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, in the first half of 2025, with a capacity to process 10,000 tons of waste batteries annually.
Korea’s energy transition is driving substantial changes in the industrial ecosystem beyond mere policy objectives. As the renewable energy, nuclear, and electric vehicle industries interconnect, a new value chain is forming, providing Korean companies with opportunities to secure a competitive edge in the global market. With strong government policy support and proactive private investment, Korea is positioning itself as a clean energy hub in the Asian region, and this transformation is expected to continue over the next decade.
From an investment perspective, Korea’s energy transition is anticipated to offer long-term growth momentum. Companies leading in the ESS, SMR, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure sectors are likely to benefit from global market expansion. However, factors such as increased initial investment costs, technology development risks, and global supply chain instability may cause short-term volatility, requiring investors to approach with a long-term perspective. The year 2025 is set to be a pivotal year for the acceleration of Korea’s energy industry transition, presenting a new paradigm that simultaneously pursues energy security and carbon neutrality.
This article is intended for general informational purposes and is not a solicitation or recommendation for investment. Investment decisions should be made at the individual’s discretion and responsibility.
