Nuclear Power Demand Driven by AI, Hyperscaler Companies, Says TerraPower CEO

0:00 Chris. Who is this customer? Well, thanks for having me. And, we're not ready to announce that first client yet, but I can tell you there's tremendous interest in atrium reactors here at Terra Power. And I think the interest is really driven by, you know, what we've shown is that with that first plant we're building in Wyoming, where we're really the first mover in the U.S., it's the only grid scale power station, under construction, you know, in nuclear today. got the first Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. And then, you know what I think you also saw with, our trip to Korea a couple of weeks ago, you know, just massive announcements with the supply chain there.

0:45 we've had great relationships with, with Korea going on five years now with, with SK, being our second biggest investor, as well as Hyundai being part of our supply chain. But, two weeks ago, we announced a framework agreement for up to eight reactors with with Hyundai Engineering and Construction. And, you know, that Korean supply chain is, formidable. You know, Korea has been building South Korea has been building nuclear plants, over the last decades, while the US hasn't been building very many. So, they're they're raring to go.

1:21 you know, they also are committing to, you know, reach our, our cost and schedule targets, which for our technology means delivering the atrium reactors in just three years following groundbreaking. That's that's what we're validating with, with our design. And that's why people are so interested in in, the atrium for AI is, the much shorter construction time that that will be able to achieve with the atrium. Well, Chris and I just very briefly here, and I promise I want to, you know, harp on this too much about the the which customer this will be.

1:54 But what is the reason that you're not ready to announce it? Is it because the ink hasn't dried on the agreement? There is no signed agreement. Like. Like what is the reason you can't announce it yet? So, I think it's important to realize that, we're in a period now where, you know, largely driven by. I demand, utilities and AI customers, namely, the hyperscalers are entering into discussions with companies like ours to start some of these new projects.

2:25 And I think you have to realize that, the U.S. and Europe haven't been super successful in the past with, with new nuclear. So, you know, we spend a lot of time structuring these new projects. And for us, kind of the formula, the winning formula is, you know, continuing to show success in the project with that first plant in Wyoming, where we're the first mover on multiple fronts. But then it's about showing that we have a supply chain and we have an experienced supply chain who is willing to say to the utilities and to the hyperscale our customers that we'll stand behind delivery. And, you know, Tara Power and the rest of our delivery team like Hyundai and Hyundai Engineering Construction, that's what we're saying, that the market right now is that, you know, not only can you look at that first plant in Wyoming and see that we're, you know, going to deliver the first nuclear plant in a long, long time, and make electricity in 2031. But right behind that, we're going to be quickly scaling, up to something like ten reactors per year by the middle of the 2030s. Well, Chris, so when you're doing now is for utility and that that's the traditional model for nuclear power.

3:42 Build a power plant and have a utility to take the electricity there. How is it different now that data centers and I and Big Tech have entered the equation here? Yeah, thanks for the question, Will. And thanks for following our so, so closely over the years. You know, I grew up in New Hampshire watching, the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant take over ten years to get built. And it was had a lot of ups opposition on the news every night, and it was paid for by the ratepayers alone. I can remember my parents, you know, complaining about seeing this line on their electricity bill related to that nuclear power plant. And every time there was a cost change, it hit the ratepayers. we're in a new era now where, you know, the the white House and governors are not going to allow, existing electricity ratepayers, mom and pop to pay for the CapEx of these new plants. So what you're seeing in the deals we're structuring is, yeah, the utility will be present.

4:47 they'll probably be running the plant when it goes online, and they may even own it. but in the deals that we're structuring, we're going to be looking for the eventual electricity customers to enter into power purchase agreements that will essentially pay for, you know, the capital expenditure for that plant. and that'll be a long term PPA that lasts, 20 to 30 years. Our data center operators willing to pay a premium for nuclear power, because they need reliable power so badly.

5:21 some are, some are raising their hand, Nora, and saying, yes, we will pay a premium, both to assure that security of supply, but also to have, you know, emission free source like nuclear. but for a long time at Tara Power, you know, coming straight from our chairman, the goal has been to, you know, develop a power source, our need for your reactor that will be competitive with renewables and gas and what we've seen in our design. because, you know, our an atrium reactor can be built much more quickly. Requires less steel, less concrete.

6:00 we have a design that, you know, once we come through our first of a kind, you know, non-recurring investments, we're going to have a design that will be competitive with other energy sources. And, you know, the US is the hardest place because we have cheap gas. It's the hardest place to compete with cheap electricity. so we'll be we'll be successful competing in the US, but then we'll have super low cost, nuclear, you know, available to, you know, countries like, like the UK, or even, you know, in South Korea, we think there's, you know, tremendous demand growth there, not just from I, but from, semiconductor fabrication. And we will have a very economic power source for, for this century. Well, Chris, when you talk about not letting mom and pop ratepayer get stuck with the bill.

6:48 when we talk about big tech companies willing to pay a premium right now for nuclear. That's kind of tacitly admitting that at least now these first ones are not going to be cheap. They're definitely going to cost more. When do we get to this cheap nuclear power that you're talking about? And how do we get there? Yeah. you know, every business has an investment. you know, pharma, you name it, all have investments to get your product out the door.

7:16 We're making that non-recurring investment right now at Terra Power with with our investors, you know, like Bill gates and SK. Nvidia joined us as an investor last year. and that investment is being matched by the US Department of Energy. that's going to allow us to deliver, the first plant, with the non-recurring costs covered again by our investors in the Doe, not by the ratepayers. will then by way of, you know, these orders that are coming, be able to quickly move down, you know, the cost curve and supply your partners, like, you know, HD Hyundai, the biggest shipbuilder in Korea, and Hyundai Engineering Construction, who really has a, you know, formidable, reputation.

8:04 Those delivery partners are going to help us quickly get down that cost curve. So how much of the conversation you're having with data center operators is about clean energy versus just simply, we need a lot of power and we need it now. It's both. I see the hyperscalers still, really committed to clean energy. I also see them, facing tremendous, you know, electricity demand. It's a problem they have to solve now. And it's a problem we've been trying to solve at Terra Power by, driving a design that can be built much faster because, you know, it's true. Nuclear has been a great source of electricity for the last 60 years in the US and Europe, but the construction projects have just been too long. So I think the reason Terra Power is getting a lot of attention right now is, you know, we're turning heads that we're actually building the thing in Wyoming, and then we're validating that we can deliver these things on a 36 month construction schedule once you break ground. So you're talking about being able to do ten power plants a year. When do we get there.

9:10 Mhm. Yeah. By the mid 2030s will. And you know that'll be a huge change. but you know I really have to hand it to companies like Hyundai. Chairman Chung there turn to Bill gates and I and he said you know, we build up to 100 ships a year in our shipyard, you know, let us show you how to scale. He's he said, normally nuclear does things 1 or 2 at a time. and we're really seeing in our five year relationship with Hyundai, they're providing design input to us.

9:39 They're showing us how to get the cost down and really how to how to scale to that kind of delivery rate.