SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - SK Innovation said on Wednesday it has sold part of its stake in U.S. small modular reactor (SMR) developer TerraPower to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), strengthening a three-way partnership aimed at expanding in the global next-generation nuclear power market.
The transaction marks the first direct investment by a South Korean state-run energy company in a global SMR developer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
TerraPower, founded in 2008 by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is developing its Natrium reactor technology, which combines an advanced nuclear reactor with a gigawatt-scale energy storage system. The company is building what it says will be the world’s first commercial Natrium SMR plant in Wyoming, with completion targeted for 2030.
SMRs use modular designs intended to reduce construction times and costs and allow generating capacity to be added in stages. SK Innovation said such reactors can provide stable, around-the-clock power and are seen as well suited for power-intensive sectors such as artificial intelligence data centers.
SK Innovation said TerraPower’s Natrium technology can adjust output to match electricity demand through integrated energy storage, enabling load-following operations and improving compatibility with variable renewable energy sources compared with other SMR designs.
KHNP said it completed a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in December related to its TerraPower investment, laying the groundwork for deeper participation in the global SMR market.
SK Innovation and its parent company, SK Inc., invested in TerraPower in August 2022 and became its second-largest shareholders. SK Innovation said they will retain that position following the partial stake sale.
The three companies signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2023 covering SMR development and demonstration and have since cooperated to expand the global SMR supply chain. Following KHNP’s investment, they plan to sequentially sign commercialization contracts covering additional SMR construction in the United States and other markets, as well as steps toward introducing SMRs in South Korea.
“KHNP’s participation in TerraPower’s investment has made the three-way cooperation on global SMR projects more concrete,” Kim Mu-hwan, head of SK Innovation’s Energy Solution Business Division, said in a statement.
Kim added that the company will work with KHNP to support the Wyoming project and pursue overseas SMR projects, including localization of materials and components.
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