TerraPower, an energy company backed by Bill Gates and SK Group, has commenced the construction of an advanced nuclear power plant at its Wyoming location. The groundbreaking ceremony, attended by Chairman Bill Gates, TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque, and government representatives, took place in Kemmerer, Wyoming, a town historically reliant on coal. The plan is to establish a nontraditional, sodium-cooled nuclear reactor adjacent to PacifiCorp's Naughton Power Plant, aiming to replace the power generation of the existing coal-fired plant. The new plant, featuring a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system, is expected to cost up to $4 billion, with half of the funding coming from the US Department of Energy. SK Group, having made a significant investment in TerraPower, anticipates further collaboration in the small modular reactor (SMR) business in Asia, with the company's focus on accelerating the commercialization of the nuclear reactor technology and seeking new business opportunities in Asian countries. This move aligns with the broader trend of increasing interest and investment in SMRs as a more cost-effective and secure alternative to traditional reactors, driven by the growing demand for energy from industrial and technology sectors in various countries.