SK Group Chairman Tae-won Chey met with Bill Gates, Chairman of TerraPower, to further strengthen strategic collaborations in the energy sectors, including small modular reactors (SMRs).

SK Group announced that Chairman Chey and Chairman Gates held a dinner meeting on the 21st of August at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. At the meeting, they discussed strategic cooperation for the development and commercialization of SMR technology by TerraPower, of which SK is an investor.

Also attending the dinner were Jae-yong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience; Moo-hwan Kim, Head of Energy Solution Business at SK Innovation; Yoon-chung Chey, Head of Business Development at SK Biopharm; and Chris Levesque, President and CEO of TerraPower.

At the meeting, Chairman Chey commented, “I believe that Korea and SK can play a critical role in the commercialization of TerraPower’s SMRs. Let’s work together to enhance market acceptance, leveraging the safety, efficiency, and eco-friendliness of SMRs.”

Previously, in August 2022, SK Inc. and SK Innovation jointly invested $250 million (USD) in TerraPower and have continued to cooperate on the commercialization of TerraPower’s SMR technology and global business expansion. In March 2023, SK Innovation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), and TerraPower signed an MOU for the development and commercialization of next-generation SMRs, and have since been cooperating on the demonstration and commercial reactor development for TerraPower’s sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR)-based Gen-4 SMR.

Separately, Chairman Gates, who is also the Chairman of the Gates Foundation, and Chairman Chey discussed the SK Group’s interest in expanding its not-for-profit vaccine development efforts that make vaccines accessible in low and middle income countries.

SK and the Gates Foundation reaffirmed their trust in a long-term, not-for-profit collaboration in the bio sector. Both sides expressed interest in evaluating opportunities to expand the scope of cooperation based on ongoing commitment to vaccine development and for global public health projects in support of the world’s most vulnerable.

In particular, discussed were plans to review expanded collaboration centered around next-generation prophylactic drug R&D, including the development of vaccines against on-going future pandemics being pursued by SK bioscience.

The cooperation between SK bioscience and the Gates Foundation is notable for its long-term trust and strategic partnership to save and improve the health of children and families in low- and middle-income countries built over more than a decade. Since 2013, the two sides have worked together on various projects, including the development of vaccines for typhoid and pediatric enteritis, as well as antiviral prevention solutions. A particularly successful example of their collaboration was Korea’s first COVID-19 vaccine, developed and made available in 2022 in partnership with CEPI. To mark this achievement, Chairman Gates and Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health at the Gates Foundation, extended their congratulations in 2022 during their respective visits to Korea. Since then, the partnership has evolved into a long-term strategic alliance across various vaccine fields focused on ending preventable child and maternal deaths and infectious diseases.

SK bioscience plans to leverage this partnership to develop new vaccines, strengthen its vaccine portfolio, and continually secure products to prepare for future pandemics. Through these efforts, the company aims to increase global vaccine accessibility, contribute to public health, and achieve both social and economic value.

Meanwhile, on the morning of August 22, Lee Hyung-hee, Head of the SK SUPEX Council’s Communication Committee; Moo-hwan Kim, Head of Energy Solution Business at SK Innovation; Chairman Gates; and CEO Levesque of TerraPower met with Minister Kim Jeong-gwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as Director Ahn Se-jin of the Nuclear Power Industry Policy Bureau, at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, to discuss building a Korea US-based Korean SMR ecosystem and related cooperation.

At the meeting, SK and TerraPower explained their investments and technological developments for SMRs. TerraPower’s Natrium® SMR , currently under development, features high safety through atmospheric pressure operation and passive air cooling, and, is combined with a thermal energy storage system that allows for flexible power output and greater compatibility with renewable energy. As a result, it is recognized globally for its economic and business potential.

SK requested that the Ministry support incentives to encourage private sector participation, strengthen global partnerships at the governmental level, and introduce advanced regulatory systems to help secure a lead in the global SMR market, which is expected to grow to hundreds of trillions of won by 2040.

Last year, TerraPower began construction on the world’s first commercial advanced SMR plant in Wyoming, USA. With strong support from the US federal government?including expedited construction permit review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?the project is progressing smoothly toward completion by 2030.

Chris Levesque, TerraPower President and CEO said, “We have received great support from SK since they joined our visionary investor base in 2022 and began participating on our Board. There is strong alignment between our technology solutions and SK’s industry-leading businesses. We see many opportunities for collaborations with SK in Korea and in the global marketplace.”

Moo-hwan Kim, Head of the Energy Solution Business at SK Innovation, stated, “SMRs are an innovative technology that can achieve both carbon reduction and energy security. Based on our strategic partnership with TerraPower, SK Innovation will play a leading role in building the domestic SMR ecosystem and entering the global market.”