Doosan Enerbility has secured a contract to manufacture key equipment for an advanced nuclear reactor being developed by U.S. nuclear technology company TerraPower, strengthening its position in the rapidly growing global next-generation nuclear power market.
Doosan Enerbility said Friday that it will manufacture a reactor containment vessel, reactor support structures and internal reactor structures for TerraPower’s sodium-cooled reactor.
The contract marks a significant expansion of cooperation between the two companies and gives Doosan Enerbility a role in TerraPower’s first nuclear power plant project.
The partnership dates back to December 2024, when Doosan Enerbility signed an engineering and manufacturability review agreement for key components of TerraPower’s first reactor.
Since then, the Korean company has worked with TerraPower to identify potential manufacturing challenges and develop design improvements to ensure the components could be produced efficiently and safely. The design has now reached a level of maturity that allows full-scale manufacturing to proceed, paving the way for the latest contract.
Industry analysts say the agreement could provide Doosan Enerbility with an important reference project in the emerging advanced reactor market. The company’s experience in manufacturing components for conventional nuclear power plants, combined with its efforts to adapt its production capabilities to next-generation reactor designs, could strengthen its competitiveness as global demand for small modular reactors and advanced reactors grows.
TerraPower’s first nuclear power plant is being built in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and will feature a 345-megawatt advanced reactor. The project is regarded as one of the first commercial-scale next-generation nuclear projects in the United States to move into the construction phase and is seen as an important milestone in the commercialization of advanced nuclear technology.
TerraPower’s reactor uses liquid sodium as a coolant and is based on sodium-cooled fast reactor technology, a Generation IV nuclear reactor design. The system can be integrated with a molten-salt energy storage system, allowing the plant to increase its power output to as much as 500 MW when needed.
The project is also receiving support from the U.S. government as Washington seeks to expand advanced nuclear power as part of its energy and industrial policy. TerraPower is pursuing additional projects in the United States and other international markets beyond its first plant.
For Doosan Enerbility, participation in the Kemmerer project could create opportunities to secure additional orders as TerraPower expands its reactor fleet. Supplying major reactor structures for the first project would also give the Korean company valuable experience with TerraPower’s technology and manufacturing requirements.
“Based on the close cooperation and trust we have built with TerraPower over several years, we were able to secure this manufacturing contract,” said Kim Jong-doo, president of Doosan Enerbility’s Nuclear Business Group. “We will successfully execute the project while continuing to strengthen our SMR manufacturing capabilities and expand our role as a global supplier.”
Doosan Enerbility is expected to use the TerraPower project as a platform to expand its presence in the global advanced nuclear and SMR supply chain, particularly as the United States and other countries accelerate efforts to commercialize next-generation nuclear technologies.
