Prime Minister Han Meets Bill Gates in Seoul... Discusses SMR Cooperation and AI-Era Energy Solutions
According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook met with Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board of TerraPower, at the Government Complex Seoul on the 14th. During their meeting, they discussed cooperation between South Korea and the United States on next-generation Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and global energy solutions in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook (right) is taking a commemorative photo with Bill Gates, Chair of the Board at TerraPower, at the Government Seoul Office on the 14th. Prime Minister's Office
View original imageThe Office for Government Policy Coordination reported that Prime Minister Han introduced Korea’s “Three Major Mega Projects” to Chairman Gates at the meeting, emphasizing the critical importance of stable power supply to support these initiatives. She also stated that Korea is seeking to diversify its energy mix by utilizing renewable energy and SMRs.
Prime Minister Han highly praised the ongoing collaboration between TerraPower and Korean companies and research institutes throughout the entire SMR value chain, including investment, manufacturing, and construction. TerraPower is a U.S. SMR development company founded by Bill Gates in 2008.
Chairman Gates responded by expressing his appreciation for the South Korean government's efforts to address changes in the energy paradigm. He said, "Korea has accumulated experience in nuclear power plant construction and operation and has the capability to implement large-scale, complex projects. This will enable Korea to make significant contributions toward achieving global carbon neutrality and building an innovative SMR ecosystem." He added, "We plan to further strengthen our strategic partnership with Korean companies."
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In this context, the government has enacted a "Special SMR Act" to establish a legal foundation for fostering the SMR industry. This will improve the regulatory framework, which has been centered on large nuclear power plants, to also cover SMRs. The government plans to actively support the early commercialization of SMRs by supporting the development of a variety of SMR models.
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