SK Innovation Bets Big on Vietnam's Energy Future with LNG and Natrium

SK Innovation, a South Korean energy company, has proposed a phased energy cooperation plan for Vietnam that involves using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet growing power demand.

The company's CEO, Choo Hyeong-wook, visited Vietnam on July 16-17 and met with officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, state energy company PetroVietnam, and its power subsidiary PV Power to discuss cooperation in energy and advanced technology.

SK Innovation expects Vietnam's power demand to increase due to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and semiconductors, and has proposed expanding power generation using LNG in the short term.

In the long term, the company plans to pursue cooperation in the SMR sector based on 'Natrium,' a fourth-generation reactor technology being developed with TerraPower in the United States. Natrium is a next-generation nuclear power technology designed to flexibly respond to changes in power demand by combining a reactor with an energy storage system.

SK Innovation aims to commercialize Natrium in 2030 and has expressed its intention to establish a long-term partnership with PVN in the nuclear power sector once SMR technology verification and commercialization are completed.