What are HD Hyundai and TerraPower planning to discuss at the Seoul meeting between Chung Ki-sun and Bill Gates?

They are expected to discuss ways to deepen cooperation in small modular reactors. The meeting is part of an expanding partnership between HD Hyundai and TerraPower on the Natrium reactor project.

How has HD Hyundai deepened its cooperation with TerraPower on Natrium reactors?

The group invested $30 million in TerraPower in 2022 and has since helped build reactor equipment for the 345-megawatt Natrium project in Wyoming. In March 2025, the two sides signed an MOU on commercialization, and in May HD Hyundai Heavy Industries became a preferred manufacturer for enclosure system components.

HD Hyundai chairman, Bill Gates to meet Friday to discuss SMR cooperation: sources

Q: When did Chung Ki-sun last meet Bill Gates before the planned Seoul meeting?

They last met seven months earlier on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The upcoming Seoul meeting would be their first since then.

Listen

Summary

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun is set to meet Bill Gates in Seoul later this week to discuss deeper cooperation on small modular reactors. The meeting follows earlier talks in Davos and comes as HD Hyundai and TerraPower expand their SMR partnership. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering invested $30 million in TerraPower in 2022, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries later became a preferred manufacturer for Natrium Reactor Enclosure System components.

Key Facts

The planned meeting would be Chung Ki-sun and Bill Gates's first in seven months since they met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering invested $30 million in TerraPower in 2022.
HD Hyundai has been participating in the construction of reactor equipment for TerraPower's 345-megawatt Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor project in Wyoming.
Chung and Gates signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2025 to cooperate on the commercialization of the Natrium reactor.
In May, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries became a preferred manufacturer of components for the Natrium Reactor Enclosure System under a Natrium Reactor Supply Framework Agreement.

By Yonhap

Published Aug 12, 2026 8:17 pm KST

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, right, shakes hands with Bill Gates, founder and chairman of U.S. nuclear energy firm TerraPower, during their meeting in Seoul, Aug. 22, 2025. Yonhap

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun plans to meet with Bill Gates, founder and chairman of U.S. nuclear energy firm TerraPower, in Seoul later this week to discuss ways to deepen cooperation in small modular reactors (SMRs), industry sources said Wednesday.

It would mark their first meeting in seven months since they met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The meeting comes as HD Hyundai, Korea's leading shipbuilding group, and TerraPower, which specializes in advanced nuclear energy technology, have been expanding cooperation in the SMR sector.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the group's shipbuilding holding company, invested $30 million in TerraPower in 2022.

HD Hyundai has since been participating in the construction of reactor equipment for TerraPower's 345-megawatt Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor project in Wyoming, the United States.

In March 2025, Chung and Gates signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the commercialization of the Natrium reactor and met again five months later to discuss ways to further expand their nuclear energy partnership.

In May, the two companies signed a Natrium Reactor Supply Framework Agreement, under which HD Hyundai Heavy Industries became a preferred manufacturer of components for the Natrium Reactor Enclosure System.

Explore More