SK Innovation Expands Natrium SMR Cooperations with TerraPower

SK Innovation, a South Korean company, has entered into a partnership with TerraPower, a U.S. company specializing in small modular reactors (SMRs), with the goal of expanding their presence in the global SMR market. This strategic collaboration aims to secure leadership in key markets such as South Korea, the United States, and Asia.

The agreement was signed by SK Innovation's CEO, Choo Hyoung-wook, and TerraPower's CEO, Chris Levesque, in Seoul on August 14. The cooperation measures include SK Innovation's participation in the SMR demonstration reactor and future commercial projects developed by TerraPower in the United States. Additionally, the agreement seeks to enhance the use of the domestic SMR supply chain, develop the domestic 'Natrium SMR' business, and identify global SMR projects together.

As a result of this partnership, SK Innovation will transition from being a strategic investor to a direct operator in SMR business development and projects. The 'Natrium SMR' is a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) utilizing liquid sodium as a coolant, in contrast to traditional light-water reactor nuclear power plants. This unique design enables safer operation at atmospheric pressure and efficient heat storage for increased power generation during power demand surges.

Notably, the 'Kemmerer Unit 1' in the United States, which employs the Natrium SMR technology, received its first commercial advanced reactor construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March 2023 and is currently under construction in Wyoming, with commercial operation expected by 2031. Following the agreement, SK Innovation aims to assess the domestic applicability of the Korean Natrium SMR business model, 'K-Natrium,' and explore opportunities to expand SMR project development and operation businesses in Asian markets like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Furthermore, the company intends to review potential collaborations with domestic research and design institutes and nuclear power equipment manufacturers. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and TerraPower Chairman Bill Gates attended a dinner to discuss responses to rising power demands due to AI data centers, the development trajectory of the next-generation nuclear power industry, and the prospect of nuclear power cooperation between South Korea and the United States.

Minister Kim Jeong-gwan also met with Chairman Gates prior to the agreement ceremony to explore ways to boost South Korean companies' involvement in TerraPower's SMR business by leveraging South Korea's extensive nuclear power plant manufacturing and construction ecosystem.