Bill Gates Visits South Korea to Promote TerraPower Small Modular Reactor Cooperation

Bill Gates recently held a series of intensive meetings in South Korea with government agencies, financial institutions, and nuclear power industry chain companies, discussing the commercialization of TerraPower's small modular reactor (SMR), supply chain development, and global market expansion. Gates is the founder of TerraPower, which is advancing a next-generation small modular reactor project based on sodium-cooled fast reactor technology.

Korea Eximbank (KEXIM) President Hwang Ki-yeon said on the 14th that he had met with Gates, and the two sides discussed financial cooperation plans needed for SMR commercialization and global market entry. Korea Eximbank plans to design customized financing support for global nuclear power projects being advanced by TerraPower and South Korean companies, including instruments such as loans and guarantees; when SMRs enter the large-scale deployment phase, it will also strengthen cooperation with international financial institutions such as the U.S. Export-Import Bank and study joint financing structures.

The South Korean government also stated that it will promote the adaptation of the current regulatory framework centered on large nuclear power plants to meet SMR development needs, and support the development of multiple SMR technology routes to facilitate early commercialization. Officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) proposed during the meetings that combining TerraPower's standardized design with South Korea's nuclear power manufacturing supply chain would help improve the economic efficiency and standardization level of SMR projects, while expressing hope that small and medium-sized South Korean nuclear companies can also enter TerraPower's supply chain.

On the corporate cooperation front, TerraPower signed a key conditions agreement for a global joint business project with SK Innovation. According to available information, SK Innovation will participate in TerraPower's SMR business in the U.S. and global markets. Previously, SK Innovation and SK Inc. invested $250 million in TerraPower in August 2022, becoming significant shareholders. In March 2023, SK Innovation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), and TerraPower signed a commercial agreement to cooperate on next-generation SMR development, commercialization, and demonstration projects.

HD Hyundai is also accelerating cooperation with TerraPower and Hyundai Engineering & Construction. The three parties previously signed a memorandum of understanding stipulating that TerraPower will provide Natrium reactor technology, HD Hyundai will be responsible for manufacturing major equipment, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction will handle engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) work. HD Hyundai plans to accelerate investment in production facilities ahead of commercialization, with the goal of building capacity to supply 2 to 3 reactor vessels per year.

HD Hyundai's cooperation with TerraPower began with an investment in 2022. In December 2024, HD Hyundai received an order from TerraPower to manufacture the cylindrical reactor vessel for the Natrium reactor. In March 2025, the two parties signed a strategic agreement to expand the commercial manufacturing supply chain, and evaluated manufacturing feasibility, price competitiveness, and delivery schedules. In May this year, HD Hyundai was designated as the preferred bidder for the manufacturing and supply of core equipment for major components of TerraPower's Natrium reactor.

Doosan Enerbility announced on the same day that it had signed a key equipment supply contract with TerraPower to manufacture the reactor protection vessel, reactor support structure, and reactor internals for the Natrium reactor. In December 2024, the two parties signed a contract for manufacturability review of the first SMR key equipment and conducted preliminary cooperation in areas such as design improvement.

Founded in 2008, TerraPower's Natrium reactor uses sodium as a coolant, distinguishing it from traditional light-water reactors and heavy-water reactors. According to available information, each module of this design has a power generation capacity of 345 megawatts, sufficient to meet the electricity needs of approximately 250,000 households. TerraPower's project in Kemmerer, Wyoming, has previously obtained relevant construction permits from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and is regarded as an important milestone in the commercialization process of its next-generation nuclear energy.

The United States is one of the world's largest nuclear power markets, with an installed nuclear capacity of approximately 95 gigawatts, accounting for about one-quarter of the global total. With the aging of some nuclear units and rising electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and data center expansion, attention to next-generation nuclear technologies in the U.S. market continues to grow. Currently, more than 100 SMR projects worldwide are in the research and development stage, and South Korean companies are attempting to enter this emerging nuclear power market early through investment, equipment manufacturing, EPC, and supply chain cooperation.