The United States, Japan, and South Korea signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, to establish a framework for trilateral cooperation aimed at accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in other countries. The deployments will initially focus on the Indo-Pacific region, according to a statement from the US State Department.
Advancing Mutual Security and Energy Needs
The MOC "advances our mutual security interests and paves the way for partner countries to meet their energy security needs," the statement said, noting that the three countries have "complementary advantages in the civil nuclear field." The agreement encourages "mutually beneficial" cooperation among their respective nuclear industries, promoting fleet deployment models that "de-risk project development, achieve economies of scale, catalyze private investment, streamline licensing processes, and optimize supply chains."
Competitive Alternatives in the Indo-Pacific
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," the statement added.
US Funding and Industry Collaboration
The US pledged more than $10 million for the State Department's Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) Program to support the safe deployment of SMRs in the Indo-Pacific. Separately, GE Vernova, Hitachi, Samsung C&T, and SGE also agreed to advance deployment of the BWRX-300 SMR across Europe.
Secretary Rubio on Energy Security
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized the importance of energy security at the signing ceremony, pointing to the Strait of Hormuz, where disruptions during the US-Iran war severely affected global energy flows. "Small modular reactors (are) going to be in many ways the future of energy generation in a very safe, efficient way, cost-effective way that will make our economies stronger," he said.
NATO Summit Context
The summit in Ankara is bringing together leaders of the 32-member alliance as well as key partners to discuss Europe’s defense capacity, NATO’s defense spending targets, military modernization, and continued support for Ukraine. Although they are not NATO members, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have been invited to the alliance's annual summits as guests since 2022. The Ankara meeting marks the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye following the 2004 Istanbul summit. The gathering also provides a platform for bilateral meetings between Türkiye and allied countries on political, security, and economic cooperation.
