Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates is helping to advance a growing source of nuclear energy with an overseas energy developer.
The American businessman met Chung Ki-sun, vice chairman of South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai, to discuss coordinating the development of small modular reactor (SMR) projects as part of its partnership with Gates' nuclear energy startup company TerraPower.
The deal with TerraPower calls for the construction of a 345-megawatt Natrium reactor based in Kemmerer, Wyoming, which HD Hyundai agreed to manufacture in a deal signed in December 2024.
Scientists continue to discover new ways to enhance the process of nuclear fission, which can help generate cleaner energy alternatives to traditional fuel sources. Separating heavy atomic particles, such as uranium, usually unleashes large amounts of both energy and heat that need to be cooled off to maintain a stable reaction.
SMR technologies utilize alternatives to water like sodium to cool high-speed neutrons more rapidly; for example, sodium's boiling point is 883 degrees Celsius (1,621 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to water's 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit), making it more resistant to high-temperature reactions.
"Next-generation SMR technology is a key solution for realizing sustainable energy," Chung Ki-sun said in a statement. "Our collaboration with TerraPower will help build a global nuclear supply chain and accelerate the energy transition."
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The technology has faced concern from some experts. Ed Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists has written that SMRs' benefits in comparison to larger reactors are often overblown by the industry, with plenty of safety concerns from less-proven technology, and both small and large reactors still need to carefully store and manage the nuclear waste they produce.
Nuclear energy is also drawn out of finite sources across the globe, and facilities are not cheap to build or maintain, but it still stands as the largest source of low-carbon energy in the United States today. It presents a clean, generally safe alternative to dirty energy sources that can harm the environment and release planet-warming gases into the atmosphere.
Partnerships such as this represent the steady progress being made to make nuclear energy more efficient with time, with Chung describing the deal as a "turning point" for global nuclear supply chains.
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