PM Han meets Bill Gates, discusses energy mix of renewables and SMRs

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook met with Bill Gates, chairman of the TerraPower board, on Friday to discuss South Korea-US cooperation on next-generation small modular reactors and global energy solutions for the AI era, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Han met Gates at the Government Complex Seoul on Friday afternoon, saying South Korea is pursuing "three mega-projects" in response to the AI transformation era and that securing a stable power supply to support them is critical.

She added that the government "is exploring an energy mix utilizing renewables and SMRs."

Han also praised the full-cycle collaboration between TerraPower and Korean companies and research institutions in the next-generation SMR sector, spanning investment, manufacturing and construction, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Gates said he shared the South Korean government's commitment to addressing the shift in the energy paradigm.

He added that South Korea "has the experience accumulated through nuclear power plant construction and operation, as well as the capability to execute large and complex projects," and said the country would "make a significant contribution to achieving global carbon neutrality and building an innovative SMR ecosystem." Gates pledged to "further strengthen the strategic partnership with Korean companies."

The government plans to reform its regulatory framework — currently centered on large-scale nuclear plants — to encompass SMRs as well, and to support the development of various SMR types with the aim of accelerating their early commercialization.