As part of Fortum’s two-year feasibility study announced in October to explore business opportunities in new nuclear both in Finland and Sweden, Fortum has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Swedish Kärnfull Next to jointly explore opportunities in new nuclear for developing small modular reactors (SMRs) in Sweden. This came two days after Fortum and Electricité de France (EDF) signed a Framework Cooperation Agreement to jointly explore collaboration opportunities for both SMRs and large power plant deployment in Finland and Sweden.
Through the collaboration with Kärnfull Next, the two companies will jointly investigate Swedish SMR projects which could lead to concrete feasibility studies. The schedule of the first operative SMR in Sweden will depend on progress in permitting, licensing and legislation on siting and the number of reactors in operation as well as decisions on future investments.
Laurent Leveugle, Head of Fortum’s Newbuild Feasibility Study said: “SMRs can provide both industry and municipalities with predictable and fossil-free electricity, heat and hydrogen. Together with new wind power, new nuclear will be a crucial piece of the climate transition puzzle. Kärnfull Next already has a noteworthy project portfolio and we see that our different competences in the value chain complement each other in an excellent way."
In November, Fortum and Finnish energy company, Helen initiated a joint study to explore the prerequisites for collaboration in nuclear power and SMRs under Fortum’s feasibility study. Earlier, in 2021, Fortum and Fermi Energia completed a licensing model study for SMR deployment in Estonia. In 2020, Fortum and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) began a three-year collaborative project to create an open-source tool for technical-economic modelling of SMR development projects.
