The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea Sign a Trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Small Modular Reactor Deployments in Other Countries

Today, on the margins of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Hyun signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to establish a framework for trilateral cooperation on accelerating small modular reactor (SMR) deployments in other countries, with an initial focus on the Indo-Pacific.  The MOC advances our mutual security interests and paves the way for partner countries to meet their energy security needs.   

 The MOC outlines opportunities for our three countries, which have complementary advantages in the civil nuclear field, to encourage mutually beneficial cooperation among their respective nuclear industries.  This framework aims to foster fleet deployment models that de-risk project development, achieve economies of scale, catalyze private investment, streamline licensing processes, and optimize supply chains.  A coordinated trilateral approach positions American, Japanese, and Korean firms to provide partners in the region with more competitive alternatives to meet their growing energy demands and to uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation as new reactor technology increasingly comes online.   

In support of this initiative, the United States is committing over $10 million in new funding for the Department of State’s Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) Program to provide technical support to countries in Indo-Pacific region for the deployment of safe, secure, and reliable nuclear energy.  Funds will advance SMR project development activities and establish an SMR Regional Training Hub for workforce development.   

The United States is also pleased to announce an industry initiative agreed upon among GE Vernova, Hitachi, Samsung C&T, and SGE to advance deployment of the BWRX-300 SMR across Europe.  This initiative will help achieve the ambitions set forth in the memorandum signed today and deepen government-industry partnerships to strengthen global energy security.