Bill Gates Meets SK and HD Hyundai Leaders on SMR and AI Power Demand

Bill Gates held a series of meetings in South Korea on Aug. 14 with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, and other major political and business figures, according to BlockBeats, citing Korean media. The talks focused on cooperation in small modular reactors, or SMRs, and power supply for artificial intelligence. In his meeting with Chey, Gates discussed ways to address rising electricity demand driven by the spread of AI data centers, the direction of the next-generation nuclear power industry, and the potential for U.S.-South Korea nuclear cooperation. SK and SK Innovation invested a combined $250 million in TerraPower in 2022, becoming the company’s second-largest shareholder. On the same day, SK Innovation signed a business cooperation agreement with TerraPower for sodium-cooled SMR projects. Gates also met Chung and Hyundai Engineering & Construction CEO Lee Han-woo to review progress on a previously signed commercial agreement. In May this year, the three companies agreed to work together on commercializing sodium-cooled reactors and setting up a division-of-roles structure.