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HD Hyundai Signs Strategic Agreement with TerraPower to Expand Manufacturing Supply Chain for Commercialization of Sodium-Cooled Reactors.
From right: Kwang-Sik Won, Head of Offshore & Energy Division at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries; Jeong Ki-sun, Executive Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai; Bill Gates, Founder of TerraPower; and Chris Levesque, CEO of TerraPower. (Photo: HD Hyundai) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] HD Hyundai has made an additional investment in U.S.-based small modular reactor (SMR) company TerraPower, joining Nvidia and other strategic partners to support the commercialization of next-generation nuclear energy.
On June 18 (local time), TerraPower announced that it had successfully closed a $650 million funding round. Key participants in the round include Enventure, a subsidiary of Nvidia, Bill Gates—the founder of TerraPower—and Korea’s HD Hyundai. While the specific investment amount from HD Hyundai was not disclosed, the company reaffirmed its commitment to building a robust nuclear power supply chain.
The funds raised will be used primarily for the construction of TerraPower’s first sodium-cooled reactor facility in the U.S., as well as the development of additional infrastructure overseas.
Founded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2008, TerraPower is a leading developer of fourth-generation nuclear reactors, specifically sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs).
This is not HD Hyundai’s first investment in TerraPower. In November 2022, its intermediate holding company, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, invested $30 million. Since then, the two companies have deepened their partnership, including a contract signed in December 2023 to supply cylindrical reactor vessels for TerraPower’s first sodium reactor.
In March 2024, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also signed a strategic agreement with TerraPower to expand the manufacturing supply chain needed for reactor commercialization. The ceremony, held in the U.S., was attended by HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman Ki-sun Jeong and TerraPower founder Bill Gates.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
