Finnish small modular reactor (SMR) startup Steady Energy announced that first concrete has been poured for the country’s first small nuclear reactor heating pilot plant in central Helsinki.

The pilot facility, developed by Steady Energy, is being built in the turbine hall of the Salmisaari B coal-fired power plant, which power utility Helen decommissioned a year ago.

Instead of a reactor core, the full-scale pilot of Steady Energy’s LDR‑50 nuclear plant, will use an electric resistor that simulates the decay heat produced by an actual reactor. The main purpose of the pilot is to demonstrate that safety features operate as designed.

During the testing period, the heat generated as a by-product will be supplied to Helen’s district heating network.