MOU is one of a number of recent agreements on possible reactor build
Sweden-based nuclear technology company Studsvik has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nordic energy company Fortum to explore the possibility of new nuclear at the Studsvik site outside Nyköping in southeast Sweden.
Studsvik said it wants to support the climate transition and in the long term sees the possibility for new nuclear power at its site, south of Stockholm, either in the form of commercial reactors, research reactors or a combination of both.
Studsvik said its role will be to make land available and contribute with its expertise. It would not to build or operate nuclear power plants on its own.
The goal for the first phase of the MoU is to identify potential business models and technical solutions for further development.
The MoU is part of a Fortum nuclear feasibility study, to be completed in 2024, that will explore the commercial, technological and societal conditions both for SMRs and conventional large reactors in Finland and Sweden. The study is also looking at new partnerships and business models.
Fortum operates the two-unit Loviisa nuclear power station in Finland and jointly owns the three-unit Olkiluoto in Finland, Oskarshamn-3 in Sweden and the three-unit Forsmark in Sweden.
In August, Swedish SMR project development company Kärnfull Next announced plans for its first nuclear new build site at Nyköping – a site it wants to turn into an “SMR campus” by the mid-2030s.
The company said it had signed a MoU and attained prospecting rights to explore the potential for commercial nuclear energy production at an industrial site owned by Studsvik at Nyköping.
Fortum Signs Number of New Nuclear Agreements
In March 2022, Kärnfull Next signed an MoU with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Sweden.
Fortum has signed a number of agreements on potential new nuclear. In June it signed agreements with US-based Westinghouse Electric Company to study the possibilities for the development and deployment of AP1000 and AP300 nuclear power reactor projects in Finland and Sweden.
It has signed agreements with stainless steel manufacturer Outokumpu to explore the decarbonisation of Outokumpu’s operations with emerging nuclear technologies such as SMRS, and with UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR to explore opportunities for the deployment of small modular reactors in Finland and Sweden.
Under an agreement signed in March, Swedish lead-cooled SMR technology developer Blykalla is to conduct a feasibility study on the construction and operation of a demonstration Sealer (Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor) with associated infrastructure for fuel fabrication in Nyköping.
Fortum has also signed agreements with South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Helsinki-based utility Helen Energy.
