South Korea's HD Hyundai Group announced that it, along with HD Hyundai Engineering & Construction, met with U.S. nuclear energy firm TerraPower on Friday to explore ways to strengthen cooperation in the field of small modular reactors (SMRs).

According to HD Hyundai, group Chairman Ki-sun Chung, TerraPower founder and Chairman Bill Gates, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction CEO Han-woo Lee held a meeting in Seoul to discuss accelerating the commercialization of TerraPower's sodium-cooled advanced reactor.

This meeting follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding in May 2025 among the three companies to collaborate on the sodium reactor, which is a next-generation small modular reactor using sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) technology.

Under the agreement, TerraPower is responsible for providing the reactor technology; HD Hyundai Group will handle the manufacturing of core equipment; and Hyundai Engineering & Construction will oversee the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract.

HD Hyundai Group Chairman Ki-sun Chung stated in a release, "Leveraging an integrated framework of technology, manufacturing, and EPC, we aim to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation reactors. We will develop our own technology while also collaborating with global companies to actively respond to the growing market demand for small modular reactor power generation."

This meeting marks the second encounter between Chung and Gates in seven months, following their discussions during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Gates' visit to Seoul aims to discuss energy projects with major South Korean corporations and government officials.