SK's Chey Tae-won meets Bill Gates to discuss nuclear energy, biotechnology cooperation

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met with Bill Gates in Seoul last week to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and biotechnology, deepening ties between one of Korea’s biggest conglomerates and the Microsoft co-founder.

From left, Kim Moo-hwan, head of energy solution business at SK Innovation; Chris Levesque, president and CEO of TerraPower; Bill Gates, chair of TerraPower and the Gates Foundation; Chey Tae-won, chair of SK Group; Chey Yoon-chung, head of business development at SK Biopharm; and Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK bioscience pose for a photo at a meeting at Seoul on Aug. 21. [SK GROUP]

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Bill Gates explored ways to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and biotechnology, deepening ties between one of Korea’s biggest conglomerates and the Microsoft co-founder, the group said on Monday.

Chey hosted Gates, who chairs the advanced nuclear startup TerraPower, for a dinner on Thursday with executives from SK bioscience, SK Innovation and TerraPower.

The talks focused on TerraPower’s Natrium small modular reactor (SMR), which is partly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, and on vaccine development programs between SK bioscience and the Gates Foundation, according to SK.

The partnership aligns with surging electricity demand from AI data centers and other energy-intensive industries, a trend that Chey has said makes nuclear power essential. For Gates, the cooperation builds on long-running vaccine collaborations with SK that started in 2013.

“I believe that Korea and SK can play a critical role in the commercialization of TerraPower’s advanced nuclear designs,” Chey said at the dinner, according to SK.

On Friday, Gates, TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque, Chey and senior SK executives met with officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to discuss building a Korea–U.S. supply chain for SMRs.

The companies urged the government to create incentives and regulatory frameworks to speed the development of the technology, which is gaining traction as countries seek low-carbon power sources.

SK's holding company, SK Inc., and energy and chemicals firm SK Innovation invested $250 million in TerraPower in 2022, becoming major shareholders.

The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, SK Innovation and TerraPower have been cooperating on the demonstration and development of commercial reactors for the Natrium technology under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2023.

TerraPower broke ground last year on its first commercial-scale plant in Wyoming, which is slated for completion around 2030.

“We have received great support from SK since they joined our visionary investor base in 2022 and began participating on our Board,” Levesque said through SK's press release. “There is strong alignment between our technology solutions and SK’s industry-leading businesses.”

“SMRs are an innovative technology that can achieve both carbon reduction and energy security,” said Kim Moo-hwan, head of SK Innovation's energy solutions business. “Based on our strategic partnership with TerraPower, SK Innovation will play a leading role in building the domestic SMR ecosystem and entering the global market.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]