Civil • Commercial

South Korea’s Nuclear Utility Commits $40M to TerraPower

By Rachael Zisk
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Image: TerraPower

South Korea is taking its support for foreign SMR development to the next level.

Last week, Korea Hydro + Nuclear Power (KHNP), a state-owned power company, approved the decision to make a $40M investment in TerraPower, as first reported by Korea JoongAng Daily. The stake will be 16% of a special purpose company established by SK Group, a South Korean conglomerate, to acquire TerraPower shares after making its own $250M investment in 2022.

The new flush of funding underlines South Korea’s commitment to supporting SMR development, even as it progresses on its own SMR designs. Enthusiasm for SMRs ties into the nation’s plan to step up nuclear power, which includes:

  • Starting up six new reactors by 2033
  • Increasing nuclear’s share to 30% of generating capacity by 2030
  • Exporting 10 nuclear units by 2030

TerraPower’s progress: The investment news comes a few months after TerraPower broke ground on its Natrium project, its first SMR deployment project, in Kemmerer, WY. The company is currently building the non-nuclear parts of the project, and according to CEO Chris Levesque, the rest of the NRC’s nuclear permitting process will take ~two more years.

Still, TerraPower’s current progress on deploying a commercial SMR in the US places it near the front of the pack  (and having Bill Gates’ money to back the project doesn’t hurt). 

  • The first Natrium reactor, a sodium-cooled fast reactor, is expected to cost ~$4B to build and begin operations no earlier than 2030.
  • The Nth-of-a-kind reactors could bring costs down to $1B apiece.

What lies ahead: Though the KHNP board has conditionally agreed to invest the $40M, the funds haven’t been released yet. The company will review TerraPower’s project and plans to sign a stock transfer agreement with SK Group within a month or so.

Rachael Zisk
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Lead Reporter of Ignition

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