TerraPower breaks ground on first 4th-gen SMR in the U.S.

TerraPower Executives, including Chairman and Fonder Bill Gates (center), and Officials attend the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the company‘s nuclear reactor facility in Kemmerer, Wyoming on June 10, 2024. [Courtesy of SK Inc.]

TerraPower LLC, a nuclear energy technology company founded by Bill Gates and invested in by SK Group, began construction on the first fourth-generation small modular reactor (SMR) in the United States.

According to SK Group, the groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower‘s SMR demonstration complex was held on Monday (local time) in Kemmerer, Wyoming. TerraPower aims to complete the SMR demonstration complex and begin commercial operations by 2030.

SMRs are miniature versions of existing large nuclear power plants. While traditional reactors take over ten years to build, SMRs, with their smaller power generation capacities, can be constructed within three years, therebyu cutting the construction period and enhancing economic efficiency. SMRs also boast high safety levels and produce less nuclear waste, making them an eco-friendly, decarbonized energy source that can replace aging coal-fired power plants.

Founded in 2008 by Bill Gates to produce safe and abundant clean energy, TerraPower’s fourth-generation SMRs use sodium as a coolant, unlike traditional light-water reactors that use water. Sodium boils at a much higher temperature of 880 degrees Celsius compared to water, allowing it to operate at higher temperatures and absorb more heat, thus increasing power output. Additionally, no contaminated water is produced as water is not used and the nuclear waste is a tenth of that produced by light-water reactors.

TerraPower’s demonstration complex will be built on the site of a coal-fired power plant owned by PacifiCorp, a U.S. electric utility company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The complex will have a capacity of 345 megawatts, enough to power 250,000 households simultaneously.

For this project, TerraPower received $2 billion in support from the U.S. Department of Energy‘s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), verifying its technological capabilities. TerraPower also attracted attention in Korea in 2022 with a $250 million investment from SK Inc. and SK Innovation Co.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) formed a strategic alliance with SK and TerraPower to develop fourth-generation SMR technology in 2023. Once fourth-generation SMR technology becomes more prevalent, SK Group, an early investor, is expected to lead in this technology. If demonstration and commercialization proceed successfully, SK, in collaboration with TerraPower, is expected to establish a foothold to expand the SMR business in the Korean and Asian markets.

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology have increased the demand for power in data centers and various equipment facilities, further heightening expectations for SMRs, which can be constructed on a smaller scale and a shorter timeframe than traditional nuclear plants. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity demand is projected to increase by an average of 3.4 percent annually until 2026. Electricity consumption in the AI, data center, and cryptocurrency sectors In particular is expected to more than double during the same period.