[Notice] SMRs on Oct. 28, AI infrastructure on Oct. 29… Explore the future at COEX

The "Open Stage" of "Smart Energy Plus (SMART ENERGY PLUS·SEP) 2026," held from the 28th to the 30th at Seoul Samsung-dong COEX Hall B, will feature a two-day conference event themed around AI data centers.

Starting at 2 p.m. on the first day, the 28th, an SMR (Small Modular Reactor) special session will be held. This is a forum exploring the business potential of SMRs as a power source for AI data centers. An SMR is a reactor with an electrical output of 300 MWe (megawatts) or less. Construction costs are one-thirtieth that of large-scale nuclear plants, and the probability of a major accident is only about once every billion years. Because it combines safety, economic efficiency, and practicality, it is being discussed as a power source for AI data centers.

In the session, △Team Leader Yoo Hyeong-geun of SK Innovation's Energy Solution Business Division will present "Next-Generation SMRs Opened by K-Natrium (K-Sodium)," △Won Jeon-gi-sul (Team Lead) of Samsung C&T's Energy Solution Business Division will present "Construction Modularization for Preparing SMRs," △ETF Operation Team 3 Leader Jung Jae-wook of Samsung Asset Management will present "The Era of SMR Investment Opened by AI Data Centers," △RX (Al-Ecks) CEO Lee Kang-heon will present "Decarbonized Industrial Heat Supply Strategy Through Light Water Reactor Heat Supply SMR Development," and △Nuclear Safety and Security Commission SMR Safety Division Chief Jang In-sook will present "New Applications of SMRs and Challenges in Safety Regulation."

It is a gathering of figures from business planning, construction, investment, venture, and government sides surrounding SMRs. SK Innovation has been focusing on the SMR business since joining as a major shareholder by investing a total of 250 million dollars in TerraPower, a U.S. nuclear company founded by Bill Gates, together with SK Inc. In the case of Samsung C&T, it is pioneering new markets, such as recently agreeing to an investment and engineering cooperation deal worth up to 100 million dollars with U.S. SMR developer Kairos Power.

Samsung Asset Management regards SMR companies as promising investment targets and newly listed ETFs such as "KODEX US Nuclear SMR" and "KODEX K-Nuclear SMR" last year. Al-Ecks, a representative domestic SMR venture company, is developing the light water reactor heat supply SMR "RX-50" in a consortium with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and recently attracted attention by securing 10 billion won in initial investment.

In the discussion following the presentations, opinions will be exchanged on △the business potential and commercialization timing of SMRs, △the current state of global trends, △differentiation points from other energies, and △directions for institutional supplementation. The special session is expected to gauge whether SMRs can become a "tangible future power source."

Starting at 10:30 a.m. on the second day, the 29th, the "2026 AI Infrastructure Frontier Conference" will be held. It is an opportunity to check the present and future of foundational technologies that actually drive AI, from AI data centers to cloud, GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)·NPU (Neural Processing Unit), power·cooling, and security, all in one place. The focus is on connecting supply companies that build and operate AI infrastructure with companies that actually adopt it, as well as demanders such as CIOs (Chief Information Officers) and CAIOs (Chief AI Officers) in the financial and public sectors.

Head of the Intelligent Technology Infrastructure Division at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command Association for the Advancement of Intelligence (NIA), Kim Eun-ju, will outline government policy and the direction of domestic AI computing infrastructure under the theme "National AI Infrastructure·Computing Policy and Industrial Direction." Head of the Evangelist Group at Samsung SDS, Choi Jung-jin, will introduce cloud·computing infrastructure strategies needed when companies actually adopt AI, under the theme "SCP AI Infrastructure: Enterprise AI Infrastructure Based on GPU·Serverless." Head of the OT (Operational Technology) Business Group at SK Shieldus, Moon Byung-gi, will lecture under the theme "In the AI Era, How Should We Prepare for OT Security? - From Already Used Business AI to AI Adoption in Production Sites."

From noon to 2 p.m., a lunch meeting and networking session will be held with key AIF (AI Infra Frontier) members and public·financial CIOs·CAIOs, etc. It is a time for AI infrastructure suppliers and actual demanders to directly share on-site concerns and business·technology demands.

In the afternoon, another core program of this event, the AIF Launch Ceremony and Special Interview, will be held. AIF is a practical network connecting data center·cloud·GPU·server·security·power·cooling companies with companies that actually use AI infrastructure, financial·public institutional investors, and investment·policy officials, etc.

The launch ceremony special interview will be moderated by Yoon Seok-bin (Prof.), discussing "Challenges in the AI Infrastructure Industry and the Role of AIF" with key AIF members. Following this, Head of the Data Center Business Division at LG CNS, Chae Min-young, will present "Cases of Overseas Expansion in the Data Center Business," and Kim Dong-hoon, Seol Ting-bon-bu (Director) at SoftCamp, will present under the theme "Security in an Era Where AI Attacks and AI Works."

Applications for the SMR special session can be made on the SEP 2026 homepage, and participation in the AI Infrastructure Frontier Conference can be applied for on the AIF homepage. The AIF homepage also separately accepts membership applications.

Meanwhile, "SEP 2026," co-hosted by MoneyToday and COEX and organized by the National Assembly Hydrogen Economy Forum, will be held at COEX Hall B from the 28th to the 30th. This year's themes are "Energy Daejeon-hwan in the AI Era" and "Energy Security Amid Rapidly Changing International Situation." The Army Energy Policy Forum will be held starting at 1 p.m. on the 28th. From the 29th to the 30th, senior officials from Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, POSCO, Bright Energy Partners, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On, HD Hyundai Electric, and OCI Power will give lectures.

The three-day exhibition will feature booths from companies such as LG Group, HD Hyundai Electric, Doosan Enerbility, and Yuneec, as well as institutional investors including the Army, Seoul City, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea Machinery Research Institute, Korea Institute of Energy Technology, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea Chemical Research Institute, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Korea Construction Technology Institute, and Technology Guarantee Fund.

In a separately prepared mobility zone, the competitiveness of electric and hydrogen vehicles from Hyundai Motor, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, and Polestar can be checked. In the case of Hyundai Rotem, it will create a space where visitors can experience a hydrogen fuel cell tram through VR (Virtual Reality).