SK and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have established a strategic collaboration agreement with TerraPower, a US-based small modular reactor (SMR) design company, to explore the next-generation energy sector related to SMRs.
The agreement was signed at the “Republic of Korea-United States Advanced Industry and Clean Energy Partnership” event held in Washington, D.C. The event aimed to explore future strategic industry cooperation opportunities between Korean and American companies, in the light of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the United States.
The “4th Generation SMR Business Strategic Cooperation Agreement” was signed by SK Inc., SK Innovation, KHNP, and TerraPower. The four companies plan to collaborate in the demonstration and commercialization of Natrium, a 4th generation SMR based on the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) technology, currently being developed by TerraPower.
SK Inc. and SK Innovation had jointly invested USD 250 million (approximately KRW 300 billion) in TerraPower in August last year, as they had a common understanding of SMRs as carbon-free and environmentally friendly energy sources. This agreement secures an opportunity for SK to participate in TerraPower's SMR project and pioneer deployment opportunities with the mission to decarbonize global operations.
KHNP has world-class capabilities in the entire nuclear power industry ecosystem, including domestic nuclear power plant operation and construction of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates. This agreement offers the potential for KHNP to grow its position in North America in the next-generation SMR industry beyond Asia. The agreement marks the first cooperative relationship between KHNP and a 4th generation SMR company and has significant implications for the domestic nuclear power industry to participate in the future global SMR supply chain.
TerraPower aims to accelerate the commercialization of the Natrium technology through this agreement. The company is building a 345 MW demonstration SMR in Wyoming, the US, with a target completion date of 2030, and the US Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting this project with approximately USD 2 billion (approximately KRW 2.6 trillion) under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). PacifiCorp, an electric utility company and subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, has partnered with TerraPower to study the construction of up to five additional Natrium plants within their service territory by 2033. In their recently released Integrated Resource Plan, PacifiCorp has identified the need for two additional Natrium plants in Utah to replace retiring coal generating stations.
Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that the SMR market will grow at an average annual rate of 22% by 2040, and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) of the UK expects the SMR market size to reach a maximum of approximately KRW 630 trillion by 2035.
