Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
1h ago

TerraPower, SK Signal Closer Partnership After Seoul Talks on SMRs

Executives pressed for incentives to speed Natrium commercialization in a Korea–U.S. supply chain.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (3rd from R), poses for a photo with TerraPower Chairman Bill Gates (3rd from L), along with Chey Yoon-chung, head of business development at SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. (2nd from L), during their meeting in Seoul on Aug. 21, 2025, in this photo released by SK Group on Aug. 25. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Overview

  • SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met Bill Gates in Seoul to discuss expanding cooperation in nuclear energy and biotechnology.
  • TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque said the company sees many collaboration opportunities with SK in Korea and globally and highlighted SK’s support since joining as investors and board participants in 2022.
  • SK Inc. and SK Innovation invested $250 million in TerraPower in 2022, and SK says it aims to help build a domestic SMR ecosystem and pursue global markets.
  • SK Innovation, KHNP and TerraPower are working under a 2023 MOU to demonstrate and commercialize Natrium reactors, while TerraPower’s first commercial-scale project in Wyoming targets completion around 2030.
  • Company leaders framed SMRs as tools for carbon reduction and energy security, cited growing power needs from AI data centers, and noted ongoing SK bioscience collaboration with the Gates Foundation on vaccines.