Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago
In the first episode of this Korea Expert Desk miniseries on Korea's Energy Evolution, former senior U.S. diplomat Henry Haggard explores how South Korea is driving its energy strategy through technological innovation and strategic alliance partnerships. To power its high-tech manufacturing sector while aiming for carbon neutrality, Seoul is executing a nuclear-centric shift to raise domestic nuclear generation to 35 percent by 2038. Haggard examines South Korea’s nuclear construction efficiency—building reactors three times faster than the global average—and explains how combining Korean engineering with U.S. intellectual property creates a global partnership. The conversation highlights joint U.S.-ROK ventures in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) designed to meet soaring electricity demands driven by AI data centers. Finally, Haggard details how the bilateral alliance is advancing cutting-edge clean energy infrastructure, from commercial clean hydrogen investments to innovative ammonia-cracking trials.
In the first episode of this Korea Expert Desk miniseries on Korea's Energy Evolution, former senior U.S. diplomat Henry Haggard explores how South Korea is driving its energy strategy through technological innovation and strategic alliance partnerships. To power its high-tech manufacturing sector while aiming for carbon neutrality, Seoul is executing a nuclear-centric shift to raise domestic nuclear generation to 35 percent by 2038. Haggard examines South Korea’s nuclear construction efficiency—building reactors three times faster than the global average—and explains how combining Korean engineering with U.S. intellectual property creates a global partnership. The conversation highlights joint U.S.-ROK ventures in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) designed to meet soaring electricity demands driven by AI data centers. Finally, Haggard details how the bilateral alliance is advancing cutting-edge clean energy infrastructure, from commercial clean hydrogen investments to innovative ammonia-cracking trials.
