S Korea, US sign 23 MoUs on stronger ties in batteries, nuclear power

SEOUL: South Korea and the US have signed 23 initial agreements to boost bilateral cooperation on advanced industries and energy fields, such as batteries, robots and nuclear power generation, Seoul's industry ministry said.

The memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed during a business partnership event in Washington, DC involving 45 senior corporate officials from the two nations on the sidelines of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the US, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Of the agreements, 10 were on batteries, bio, aviation, robots, autonomous driving and other next-generation sectors, and the remaining 13 MOUs called for enhanced bilateral ties on energy industries, including hydrogen, nuclear power generation and carbon neutrality, it added, reports Yonhap news agency.

Participating South Korean companies include Doosan Co., SK Inc., Lotte Chemical and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. From the US side, Boeing, GE, ExxonMobil and Siemens attended the event, the ministry said.

In detail, Seoul's Korea Battery Industry Association and several other institutions signed an MOU with the US' NATTBatt and agreed to conduct joint research and development regarding secondary batteries and boost technology and personnel exchanges.

Doosan and Doosan Robotics Inc. vowed to strengthen ties with the US' Rockwell Automation on technology development and marketing for smart factory operation.

South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. and SK Innovation Co. signed an agreement with American nuclear engineering firm TerraPower to jointly push for a project for the construction and operation of fourth-generation small modular reactors.

In the clean energy sector, Lotte Chemical signed an MoU with CF Industries Holdings, a US ammonia producer, for collaboration in the production of blue ammonia in Louisiana and its application to electricity generation in South Korea, using carbon capture technologies.

Korea Electric Power Corp. and GE agreed upon stronger cooperation on development of technologies for hydrogen, ammonia and other renewable energy, according to the ministry.

"The South Korea-US alliance has gone beyond the traditional military and security alliance to become a technology alliance," Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said. "We hope these agreements will create big results, and the South Korean government will actively support corporate activities."