Korea Seeks to Become Next-Gen. Nuclear Hub in SMR Talks With Bill Gates

Дата публикации: 14-08-2026 13:10:34

Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and chair of the Gates Foundation who also leads next-generation nuclear power company TerraPower, arrived in South Korea via Gimpo Airport on a private jet at around 9:20 p.m. on Aug. 13. It was his first visit to the country in a year, since August last year, a

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Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and chair of the Gates Foundation who also leads next-generation nuclear power company TerraPower, arrived in South Korea via Gimpo Airport on a private jet at around 9:20 p.m. on Aug. 13. It was his first visit to the country in a year, since August last year, and the trip is focused on expanding cooperation on small modular reactors, or SMRs, to respond to electricity demand in the artificial intelligence era.

Gates is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Han Sung-sook on Aug. 14 and is also reportedly coordinating a closed-door meeting with National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik. Meetings with government officials are expected to focus on the institutional foundation for fostering the SMR industry and ways to cooperate on nuclear power technology as a national strategic asset. Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung had expressed his commitment to fostering seven advanced technologies, including SMRs, as growth engines for the AI era.

In the business community, attention is centered on a series of meetings with SK Group and HD Hyundai, both key partners of TerraPower. Gates is set to meet HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun on Aug. 14 to discuss cooperation in the SMR sector. The two sides will sit down together again for the first time in seven months since the Davos Forum earlier this year. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has maintained close ties with TerraPower in manufacturing, including being selected in May as the preferred bidder to supply the reactor enclosure system, or RES, a core piece of equipment for TerraPower’s Natrium reactor.

A meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and other senior executives is also seen as likely. SK Group is a major shareholder in TerraPower, having invested about $250 million, and a relationship that began with cooperation in vaccine development has expanded into carbon neutrality and energy. The upcoming meeting is expected to place commercialization based on TerraPower’s Natrium reactor technology and the establishment of a global supply chain high on the agenda.

Behind the visit is a sharp rise in electricity demand driven by the spread of AI. The International Energy Agency said global data center electricity consumption is projected to surge to 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, more than double the current level. Gates has emphasized SMRs, which can provide stable electricity supply while producing low carbon emissions, as an effective solution to power shortages at data centers.

The fourth-generation reactor TerraPower is developing, “Natrium,” uses a sodium-cooled fast reactor, or SFR, design that uses liquid sodium as a coolant. Compared with conventional nuclear power plants, it generates less nuclear waste and offers greater safety, leading to its evaluation as a next-generation energy source that can complement the intermittency of renewable energy. In March, TerraPower secured clearer business visibility by obtaining a permit to build a commercial-scale next-generation nuclear power plant in Wyoming in the United States.

South Korean companies are aiming to become a key hub in the global SMR supply chain based on their competitiveness in nuclear power plant design and manufacturing. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power acquired a stake in TerraPower in January this year, while the government’s push to establish SMR manufacturing support centers in Changwon and Busan is part of the same strategy. Gates’ latest visit is expected to serve as a catalyst for shaping a new business model that combines the manufacturing capabilities of South Korean companies with TerraPower’s technological strengths.

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