SK Innovation said on the 5th that TerraPower, a U.S. next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) corporations co-invested in with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), won approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build a commercial advanced nuclear power plant.
This is the first time in 10 years the NRC has authorized construction of a new commercial nuclear plant, and the first approval in the United States for an advanced reactor such as an SMR. With this approval, TerraPower will formally begin building the world's first commercial SMR plant. TerraPower plans to apply for an operating license in late 2027 or early 2028 and begin commercial operation around 2031.
TerraPower is a next-generation SMR corporations founded by Bill Gates in 2008. TerraPower has improved generation efficiency and safety over existing nuclear plants by using liquid sodium cooling technology. The liquid sodium coolant, with a boiling point reaching 880 degrees, absorbs more heat to boost output, and, by reducing spent nuclear fuel generation to about 10% of conventional levels, is credited with achieving both environmental friendliness and economic efficiency.
Earlier, SK Co. and SK Innovation jointly invested $250 million in TerraPower in Aug. 2022 to become the No. 2 shareholders, and have continued cooperation on commercializing TerraPower's SMR technology and expanding its global business. Then in Mar. 2023, SK Innovation, KHNP and TerraPower signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and commercialize next-generation SMRs, and have collaborated on demonstration and commercial reactor development of a Generation IV SMR based on a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) that TerraPower is developing.
SK Innovation plans to combine the competitiveness it has built in energy and materials with KHNP's world-class nuclear plant construction and operation know-how to establish an SMR ecosystem at industrial sites such as data centers in Korea and overseas, and to provide tailored integrated energy solutions to address power supply and demand issues.
Chris Levesque, TerraPower's chief executive officer (CEO), said, "Today is a historic day for the U.S. nuclear industry," adding, "TerraPower plans to start construction of the commercial SMR plant within this month."
Kim Moo-hwan, head of SK Innovation's Energy Solution Business Division, said, "The first approval in the United States to build a Generation IV SMR is a historic turning point for the global energy industry," adding, "SK Innovation, together with KHNP, plans to move forward with the world's first commercial SMR plant construction and the expansion of the global SMR supply chain based on strategic cooperation with TerraPower."