SK, After BBC, Focus on Future Growth Engines SMR and Hydrogen as New Energy Sources

SK Corp., Inaugural Chair Company of SMR Alliance
Leading Domestic SMR Ecosystem Development and Competitiveness Expansion
Also Focusing on Hydrogen... SK E&S to Produce Liquefied Hydrogen by Year-End

On the 4th, the joint public-private 'SMR Alliance' launch ceremony was held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul. In the photo, from the 8th person on the left in the front row, Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Jang Dong-hyun, Vice Chairman of SK Inc.; and Hwang Ju-ho, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by SK Inc.

SK Group has identified the energy sector, including SMR (Small Modular Reactor) and hydrogen, as future growth engines following its focus on BBC (Semiconductors, Batteries, and Bio). Efforts are intensifying to find new energy sources to replace fossil fuels in the carbon-neutral era.

SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group, joined the public-private 'SMR Alliance' launched on the 4th with the goal of strengthening national competitiveness in the SMR industry as the inaugural chair company. SMR is regarded as an eco-friendly energy source and a game changer in the global energy industry for carbon neutrality. The SMR Alliance plans to establish strategies and create institutional foundations for the SMR business, where countries are competing to secure technology and market leadership for global energy dominance. The SMR Alliance includes 11 government and public institutions such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and the Korea Energy Economics Institute, as well as 31 companies including GS Energy, Samsung C&T, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, and Doosan Enerbility.

SMRs are nuclear reactors with a power generation capacity of 500 MW or less, smaller in size and capacity than conventional large nuclear power plants. Even in the event of an accident, the risk of radioactive material leakage at each connection point is much lower than that of large nuclear plants. The main cause of nuclear accidents is decay heat, but SMRs, being small, generate less decay heat and are designed to release it externally even without emergency cooling systems, enhancing safety. Their modular construction in factories and simple transportation and installation at power plant sites improve economic feasibility, and they require smaller site areas. Notably, SMRs are gaining attention worldwide as a carbon-free power source and an eco-friendly energy option for achieving net zero carbon emissions.

Conceptual diagram of SMR (Small Modular Reactor) by TerraPower, in which SK Inc. and SK Innovation have invested 300 billion KRW. Photo by TerraPower website

SK Inc. and SK Innovation view SMR as another future growth engine, having invested $250 million (approximately 300 billion KRW) last August in TerraPower, a leading US SMR company. SK Inc. is expected to lead the domestic SMR ecosystem by serving as the inaugural chair company of the SMR Alliance. Jang Dong-hyun, Vice Chairman of SK Inc., said, "The private sector, government, and public institutions have come together to take a meaningful first step," adding, "The SMR Alliance will make multifaceted efforts to ensure SMRs can properly serve as a clean energy source by improving public acceptance, institutional reforms, and industrial development measures." He also stated, "We will join forces to secure SMR leadership in the global market through supply chain formation and business participation."

So far, SK Group has made large-scale investments centered on the BBC sectors, with investments totaling 247 trillion KRW planned by 2026. The group is now focusing on the energy sector as the next future growth engine after BBC. Recently, SK Innovation’s 1.18 trillion KRW rights offering is also aimed at promoting new businesses and R&D in SMR, hydrogen, and ammonia.

SK Group is also strengthening its efforts in the hydrogen sector, another renewable energy source. SK E&S is currently constructing a liquefied hydrogen production base in the Incheon area with an annual capacity of up to 30,000 tons, scheduled to begin production by the end of this year. The liquefied hydrogen produced here will be supplied to about 40 liquefied hydrogen refueling stations being built by SK Plug Hybus. In 2021, SK Inc. and SK E&S invested $1.6 billion (approximately 1.8 trillion KRW) in Plug Power, a US company specializing in hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzer equipment, securing a majority stake.

Choi Jae-won, Vice Chairman of SK Group, said at last month’s 'H2 Business Summit,' a coalition of hydrogen business companies, "Hydrogen is an essential energy source in the carbon-neutral era," adding, "To transition from blue hydrogen (hydrogen produced using carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology) to green hydrogen (hydrogen produced with eco-friendly power), cooperation between companies and countries is necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.