A group of 12 Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Corporation, NTT, and Kansai Electric Power, announced on September 2, 2025, an investment in Massachusetts-based nuclear fusion energy startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the first time Japanese firms have invested in CFS, with the intent to acquire construction and operational technologies to expedite nuclear fusion power commercialization in Japan.

Hyundai Motor Group recently participated in the 16th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM16), emphasizing the necessity of establishing a hydrogen energy ecosystem and reinforcing its position as a global leader in the hydrogen sector. However, with South Korea's hydrogen budget reduced for two consecutive years and infrastructure investment still insufficient, how businesses and the government overcome these challenges has become a focal point.

Sony has announced plans to encourage its key component suppliers to use 100% renewable energy in their production processes by the fiscal year ending March 2031. According to Nikkei Asia, this goal is part of Sony's new environmental action guidelines, which include mid-term targets from fiscal 2026 to 2030.

Taiwan's semiconductor automated test equipment (ATE) maker Chroma ATE has filed a lawsuit against Good Will Instrument (GW Instek), accusing the rival instrument maker of infringing on its intellectual property by copying the name and interface of its self-developed automated test system, ATS 8000. The case was submitted to Taiwan's Intellectual Property and Commercial Court on September 1, 2025, under the Fair Trade Act.

During his visit to South Korea, Microsoft founder Bill Gates met with President Lee Jae-myung and SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won to explore business cooperation in small modular reactors (SMRs). President Lee underscored South Korea's readiness to become a leading SMR nation, citing the country's competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.

The global surge in energy demand has brought a turnaround to South Korea's once-stagnant nuclear power industry. However, at the beginning of 2025, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) faced scrutiny for signing an unequal agreement with US-based Westinghouse Electric Corporation (WEC) while competing for the Czech Republic's nuclear power plant project. The medium- to long-term implications of the agreement have raised significant concerns.

Greenet, the electricity retail arm of green energy investment group J&V Energy Technology, signed a green energy purchase agreement with Capital Securities on August 26. The three-year deal will see Greenet supply more than one million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy to Capital Securities.

South Korean and US companies signed a total of 11 agreements across various sectors, including shipbuilding, nuclear energy, aviation, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and minerals, during the recent Korea-US Business Roundtable in Washington, D.C. Four of these deals focused on nuclear energy, marking it as the largest category of cooperation.

South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung's three-day trip to Washington began with a flurry of business deals, as companies from both countries signed 11 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to expand cooperation across strategic industries.

The 2025 Meet Greater South, held August 22-23 at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, brought together 300 startup teams from nine countries. Centered on the themes of semiconductors, AI, and sustainability, the event underscored how these sectors are becoming the core drivers of industrial upgrading and international integration in southern Taiwan.

South Korea will allocate a record KRW35.3 trillion (approx. US$25.2 billion) to R&D in 2026, up 19.3% from a year earlier. The budget shift underscores a decisive break from the spending cuts under former President Yun Seok-yeol and highlights Seoul's renewed focus on artificial intelligence (AI), renewable energy, and other strategic technologies.