Finland eyes small reactor nuclear future, talks with US

By Pekka Vanttinen and Vlad Makszimov | EURACTIV.com

18-10-2022

Small nuclear reactors on the cards in Finland, Sweden. [Shutterstock/LukeOnTheRoad]

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Energy giant Fortum is updating its strategy with a return to Nordic roots after the investment fiasco with Germany's Uniper.

In line with developments elsewhere in Europe, alongside conventional reactors, the Finnish state-owned (51%) company will "explore prerequisites" for small modular reactors (SMRs), a technology in which Washington is leading.

In a two-year feasibility study announced on Monday, the company said it would look into the commercial, technological and societal, political, legal and regulatory conditions for a nuclear ramp-up in Finland and Sweden.

Fortum is emerging from a painful investment in Uniper, which Berlin nationalised last month, a move seen in Helsinki as an unavoidable measure and a relief despite heavy losses.

The long-anticipated announcement that the German State will take full control of the Finnish energy company Fortum's subsidiary Uniper was seen in Finland mostly as an unavoidable measure and a relief despite the heavy losses.

Read more: Berlin …

Now Fortum says to achieve competitive construction times and to tackle costs, future ventures are to be based on partnerships between nuclear generating and district heating companies, industrial off-takers of power and heat, nuclear utilities and start-up companies.

Besides conventional reactors, special attention will be given to small modular reactors (SMRs), which according to Laurent Leveugle, leading the work at Fortum, "are promising in terms of taking nuclear power forward to future generations".

The most notable SMR solutions already being developed are the ones by Rolls-Royce, GE-Hitachi, and Nuscale. In Finland, LUT University and the Technical Research Centre have a project for a plant with an output of 20-50 megawatts.

Regulatory hurdles

However, the existing and outdated legislation with its licensing process may prove to be a hindrance.

Commenting on the issue and Fortum's plans, Economic Affairs Minister Mika Lintilä (Center) said that revised legislation encompassing smaller reactors is under preparation.

Currently, about 19% of Finnish energy needs are met by nuclear sources, and 39% in Sweden.

Europe's small reactors and the US

In Sweden, where nuclear energy has traditionally been met with resistance, new reactors will likely get a tailwind from the new far-right-backed government. The Finnish Fortum owns part of the country's Oskarshamn and Forsmark nuclear plants.

Meanwhile, Finland is not alone in its pursuit of more nuclear power. With no reactors so far, Estonia is progressing fast in its SMR plans. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Czechia and Slovakia have also voiced interest.

Pro-nuclear EU countries are now flirting with building US-tech-dominant small modular reactors as large nuclear reactors, which cost billions, take decades to build, and cannot effectively replace Russian energy imports.

On 1 April, Czech state-owned energy giant ČEZ announced that it …

Many of these investments are supported by Washington, with the US leading country in SMR technology.

A nuclear cooperation with the US is under negotiation, Lintilä revealed to Ilta-Sanomat.

Poland and Romania are both currently cooperating with US companies in their pursuit of deploying SMRs.

However, Europe's nuclear giant, France, is trying to catch up. French President Emmanuel Macron announced a €1 billion investment into its research and development in October 2021.

He also said it is the "priority number one of French industry".

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