South Korea's KHNP Secures Stake in TerraPower, Will Support Natrium Reactor

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Written by Danny Levin, Deputy Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company secured a stake in the Bill Gates-backed mini-nuclear developer TerraPower after SK Innovation transferred part of its 10% stake in the company. The two South Korean companies pledged to support construction of TerraPower's Natrium reactor.

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South Korea's KHNP Gets Stake in TerraPower, Supporting Natrium Reactor

SK Innovation (Seoul, South Korea) transferred a portion of its 10% stake in Bill Gates-founded TerraPower (Bellevue, Washington) to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company Limited (Seoul). The three-way alliance will support TerraPower's planned construction of its mini-nuclear Natrium reactor in Wyoming, as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is expected to issue a permit on the nuclear construction sometime this year.

TerraPower labels Natrium an "advanced reactor" as opposed to an SMR. "KHNP is a global leader in building and operating nuclear plants, and TerraPower is leading the advanced nuclear industry to market with its flagship Natrium technology," the U.S.-based company said in a press release.

The 345-megawatt (MW) Natrium reactor differs from most of the industry's water-based reactors in the SMR sector, by being a sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based, gigawatt-scale energy storage system. Natrium is the first advanced reactor technology to successfully complete an environmental impact statement for the NRC.

TerraPower expects delivery of initial units as early as 2032. Non-nuclear site preparation is underway. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report.

Park In-sik, executive vice president and head of the Export Business Division at KHNP, said the three companies plan to sign definitive commercialization agreements this year to establish a foundation for global projects. Moohwan Kim, executive vice president and head of the Energy Solution Business Division at SK, added the two South Korean companies would "support the Wyoming project, pursue new nuclear opportunities, and achieve innovative outcomes including localization of key materials and components."

The announcement is one more step to implementing the Natrium technology in the U.S. and around the globe.

Earlier this month, TerraPower signed an agreement with Meta Platforms (Menlo Park, California) to develop up to eight, 345-MW Natrium reactors in the U.S., with a combined capacity of 2.8 gigawatts (GW). Another 1.2 GW of storage will be available from the reactor's built-in molten salt energy storage system.

On a global scale, TerraPower has chosen the U.K. as its first market outside of the U.S. For more information, see November 10, 2025, article - U.K. First Pick for Bill Gates-backed TerraPower.

KHNP's stake marks the first direct investment by a South Korean state-run company in a global SMR developer.

Another South Korean Company Recently Agreed to Support the U.S. SMR Market

In December, U.S. SMR firm X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC (Rockville, Maryland) signed a binding reservation agreement with Doosan Enerbility (Changwon, South Korea) to secure crucial components for X-Energy's 16 Xe-100 SMRs, including reactor pressure vessels, steam generator pressure vessels and additional steel components. In a related press release, X-energy said its commercial pipeline sits at 11 GW, equivalent to 144 advanced reactors.

Jongdoo Kim, chief executive officer of Doosan Enerbility Nuclear Business Group, said that the agreement signals that "SMR manufacturing is entering a more advanced stage of preparation."

X-Energy's two-phase, commercial-scale nuclear fuels plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee--which will fabricate fuel ("TRISO") for the Xe-100--is in the site development phase and is expected to be the first U.S. facility to exclusively manufacture fuel for advanced SMRs. The first phase is expected to provide enough fuel for up to 11 reactors, with construction expected to wrap up in mid-2026. Subscribers can read the related project reports.

X-Energy and Dow Incorporated (Midland, Michigan) are partnering to deploy four Xe-100 SMRs totaling 320 MW at Dow's Chemical's Seadrift site in Texas. In June 2025, the NRC announced an 18-month timeline to complete environmental and safety reviews for the construction permit application. Subscribers can read the project report.

Key Takeaways

• TerraPower received another investor, South Korea's state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company.
• SK transferred a portion of its 10% stake in TerraPower to KHNP.
• The three-way alliance will support construction of TerraPower's Natrium reactor in Wyoming.
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to issue a construction permit sometime this year.

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About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resource's Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).