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SK-backed TerraPower wins U.S. approval for commercial SMR

Published: 05 Mar. 2026, 17:30

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, poses for a photo with Bill Gates, the founder of TerraPower, in Seoul on Aug. 22, 2025, in this file photo released by SK Group. [SK GROUP]

TerraPower, a U.S. nuclear power company founded by Bill Gates with investment from Korea's SK Group, has won a construction permit for its small modular reactor (SMR) from U.S. authorities, the Korean conglomerate said on Thursday.

SK Group has maintained close ties with TerraPower. SK Inc., the conglomerate's holding company, and SK Innovation made a joint investment of $250 million in the U.S. firm in 2022.

According to TerraPower, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a construction permit for its planned plant in Wyoming, which is expected to be operational in 2030.

“It marks the first case in 10 years for the NRC to grant approval for construction of a new commercial nuclear plant,” SK Group announced in a release, noting it was also the first permit ever for an SMR.

In January, SK Innovation said that it had sold some of its stake in TerraPower to Korea's state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), with SK Group keeping its position as the second-largest shareholder in the U.S. firm.

SK Group said that approval by the NRC is significant, as it represents recognition by U.S. authorities of the technological capabilities of TerraPower in the SMR industry, which will help SK and KHNP expand global businesses.

SK Innovation will seek to combine its business capabilities in the energy sector with KHNP's experience in building and operating nuclear reactors to establish an SMR ecosystem for different industrial uses, the group added.

Yonhap