According to South Korean media reports, South Korea has significantly increased its R&D spending on energy technologies (primarily nuclear energy) next year to ensure power supply for artificial intelligence data centers.
Data from the Ministry of Science and ICT's annual energy technology R&D budget shows that the ministry's total budget for energy technology R&D in 2027 is 733.6 billion won, a 48% increase from this year, setting a new record. According to the government's proposal, the budget for nuclear energy R&D also reached a record 386.4 billion won, a 16.6% increase from the previous year. Among these, small modular reactor research, one of the seven key projects, saw its budget surge by 55.7% to 127.5 billion won, becoming the main driver of growth. In addition, investment in nuclear fusion, another pillar of the energy sector, more than doubled from the previous year, reaching 284 billion won. Investment in renewable energy R&D increased by 64% to 21.5 billion won.
