SK Chairman Chey Tae-won &#40;right&#41; and TerraPower founder and board chairman Bill Gates shake hands during their meeting at SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, last August.

SK Innovation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have made significant strides in their quest to dominate the global small modular reactor (SMR) market. Their partner, TerraPower, has secured a groundbreaking construction approval from the U.S. government for a commercial advanced reactor. This marks the first time such approval has been granted for an SMR in the U.S., signaling a major milestone in the industry.

Industry sources reported on Thursday that TerraPower recently obtained approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct the world's first commercial SMR plant in Wyoming. This is the first time in a decade that the NRC has green-lit the construction of a new commercial nuclear power plant. The approval underscores that TerraPower's next-generation SMR technology has received official recognition from regulators for its safety and technological maturity.

TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates in 2008, has emerged as a frontrunner in next-generation SMR technology. Its flagship innovation, the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), utilizes liquid sodium as a coolant, significantly enhancing both efficiency and safety compared to traditional reactors. The high boiling point of liquid sodium (880 degrees Celsius, about 1,616 fahrenheit) allows for greater heat absorption, while also reducing spent nuclear fuel to about 10% of conventional methods, achieving both environmental sustainability and economic viability.

A key advantage of this technology is its load-following capability, which allows power generation to be adjusted based on electricity demand through the use of energy storage systems (ESS). This feature is crucial in complementing the variability of renewable energy sources, positioning SMRs as a vital component in next-generation energy solutions. TerraPower plans to break ground this month, aiming to have the demonstration reactor operational by 2030.

In 2022, SK Group invested 250 million USD in TerraPower, securing its position as the second-largest shareholder. KHNP joined the partnership in 2023, establishing a strategic alliance among the three companies. Their collaborative strategy aims to dominate the global SMR supply chain by leveraging SK's energy business expertise and KHNP's nuclear construction and operational know-how.

With this recent approval, SK plans to offer integrated energy solutions that combine SMRs with advanced industries requiring substantial power, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently emphasized at an event in Washington, D.C., that securing energy is critical for the success of the AI industry. He revealed that SK is preparing a new model to co-locate AI data centers with power plants.

Kim Moo-hwan, head of SK Innovation's Energy Solutions Division, hailed the approval as a historic turning point for the global energy industry. He stated that the green light for the first fourth-generation SMR in the U.S. is a game-changer. They're now poised to accelerate the construction of the world's first commercial SMR plant and expand the global supply chain, building on our strong partnership with TerraPower.

SK Innovation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have made significant strides in thei …

First Commercial SMR Plant Approved in the U.S.: What This Means for the Future of Energy