TerraPower, Backed by SK and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Receives First U.S. Approval for Commercial SMR Construction

U.S. NRC Approves New Commercial Nuclear Reactor Construction for the First Time in 10 Years

Utilizing Liquid Sodium Cooling Technology; Commercial Operation Set for 2031

SK Group Invests $250 Million, Becoming Second-Largest Shareholder

Collaboration Expected with Companies Like Doosan Enerbility and Hyundai Engineering & Construction

Taewon Chey, Chairman of SK Group (right in the photo), and Bill Gates, Founder and Chairman of the Board of TerraPower, met in August last year at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and shook hands. SK Group

TerraPower, a next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) company in the United States that has received investment from SK Innovation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, has been granted approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a commercial advanced nuclear power plant.

This is the first time in 10 years that the NRC has authorized the construction of a new commercial nuclear plant, and it is also the first-ever approval for the construction of an advanced nuclear plant such as an SMR in the United States. With TerraPower’s construction approval, the race to commercialize SMRs is expected to accelerate worldwide. TerraPower is also well known as a company founded by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.

According to major international media outlets on March 5, the NRC approved the construction of TerraPower’s commercial 345-megawatt (MW) “Natrium Reactor” in Wyoming, USA.

With this approval, TerraPower is set to begin construction of the world’s first commercial SMR plant. TerraPower plans to apply for an operating license for the nuclear power plant by the end of 2027 or early 2028 and aims to begin commercial operations around 2031.

TerraPower, founded in 2008 by Bill Gates, is a leading next-generation SMR company. By utilizing liquid sodium cooling technology, it has significantly improved both power generation efficiency and safety compared to conventional nuclear power plants.

The liquid sodium coolant, which has a boiling point of 880 degrees Celsius, can absorb more heat to increase power output. It can also reduce the amount of spent nuclear fuel generated to about 10% of that produced by existing reactors, earning TerraPower praise for achieving both eco-friendliness and economic efficiency.

TerraPower’s SMR technology enables load-following operation using energy storage systems (ESS), allowing it to flexibly adjust power output in response to electricity demand. This feature helps compensate for the volatility of renewable energy sources.

TerraPower is also planning to accelerate its global expansion. In an interview with Bloomberg, TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque stated, “We plan to supply more than 10 SMRs overseas by 2035,” adding, “We must demonstrate that the construction cost of the tenth SMR can be reduced to half that of the first plant.”

Collaboration with Korean companies is also anticipated. Previously, SK Inc. and SK Innovation jointly invested 250 million dollars in TerraPower in August 2022, becoming the company’s second-largest shareholders.

Subsequently, SK Innovation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and TerraPower signed a business agreement in March 2023 for the development and commercialization of next-generation SMRs. They have since been cooperating in the demonstration and commercial reactor development of Generation IV SMRs based on sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) technology, which TerraPower is developing.

Doosan Enerbility and Hyundai Engineering & Construction are also in cooperative relationships with TerraPower.

SK Innovation explained, “By combining our accumulated competitiveness in the energy and materials sectors with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s world-class expertise in nuclear power plant construction and operation, we plan to build an SMR ecosystem at various industrial sites, including domestic and overseas data centers, and provide customized integrated energy solutions to help resolve power supply issues.”

In this context, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated in his welcoming remarks at the “Trans-Pacific Dialogue 2026” hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Washington, D.C. last month, “SK is preparing a new solution that combines AI data centers and power plants,” emphasizing, “A ‘new energy source’ such as SMRs is needed to respond to the massive new energy demand generated by the AI industry.”

Last August, Chairman Chey also met with Bill Gates, Chairman of the Gates Foundation, in Seoul for a dinner meeting, where they agreed to further strengthen business cooperation and strategic partnership in the energy sector, including SMRs. Bill Gates currently serves as Chairman of the Board at TerraPower.

Kim Moohan, Head of Energy Solutions at SK Innovation, said, “The approval of the first Generation IV SMR construction in the United States marks a historic turning point in the global energy industry,” adding, “SK Innovation, together with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, will pursue the world’s first commercial SMR plant construction and the expansion of the global SMR supply chain based on our strategic partnership with TerraPower.”

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