HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has signed a strategic agreement with TerraPower to expand the manufacturing supply chain for next-generation small modular reactors, deepening ties between the South Korean industrial giant and the nuclear innovation company founded by Bill Gates.
The partnership, announced Wednesday, builds on prior collaborations including a $30 million investment by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering in TerraPower in November 2022 and a subsequent supply contract for cylindrical reactor vessels.
TerraPower’s sodium-cooled fast reactors are designed to produce about 40% less nuclear waste than conventional reactors while maintaining high safety standards. The company aims to have the technology commercially operational by 2030.
The agreement ceremony in the United States was attended by Chung Ki-sun, senior vice president of HD Hyundai, Gates, Won Kwang-sik, head of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Marine Energy Business Division, and Chris Levesque, TerraPower’s CEO.
Won said the partnership would accelerate commercialization of next-generation nuclear energy solutions and create growth opportunities in the global SMR market. The collaboration follows discussions between Chung and Gates in Seoul last year regarding potential cooperation in the SMR business.
TerraPower is positioning its technology as a response to growing global demand for carbon-free energy sources amid climate change concerns.
