This photo provided by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. on March 12, 2025, shows Won Kang-shik (R, bottom), senior executive vice president of HD Hyundai Heavy, and Chris Levesque, president and CEO of TerraPower, at a strategic cooperation agreement signing ceremony between the companies held in the United States. Also attending were Chung Ki-sun (R, top), senior vice chairman of HD Hyundai Co., and Bill Gates, a co-founder of TerraPower. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) — HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, said Wednesday it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with TerraPower LLC, a nuclear power startup founded by Bill Gates, to expand the manufacturing supply chain for power plants featuring sodium-cooled reactors.
Under the partnership, the two companies will integrate HD Hyundai Heavy’s manufacturing expertise with TerraPower’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology to enhance the supply chain capabilities of Natrium power plants and accelerate commercialization.
Natrium plants refer to TerraPower’s advanced power plants that utilize sodium-cooled fast reactor technology. Compared to conventional reactors, Natrium plants offer greater safety, a higher level of technological maturity and about 40 percent less nuclear waste.
An agreement signing ceremony, held in the United States, was attended by Chung Ki-sun, senior vice chairman of HD Hyundai Co., the holding company of HD Hyundai Heavy, and Gates.
“With our extensive experience in high-precision manufacturing and large-scale industrial production, we are uniquely positioned to apply our proven expertise to support TerraPower’s vision for commercial deployment,” Won Kang-shik, senior executive vice president of HD Hyundai Heavy, said.
Chris Levesque, TerraPower president and chief executive officer (CEO), praised HD Hyundai Heavy’s world-renowned manufacturing capabilities, and said he looks forward to the cooperation “to establish the commercial-scale production capacity that will be essential for successful deployment of multiple Natrium units globally.”
(Yonhap)
