Power company Fortum has agreed to support Finnish start-up Steady Energy in the development of a comprehensive digital twin for Steady Energy’s LDR-50 reactor. Steady Energy, spun out of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in 2023, is developing the LDR-50 small modular reactor (SMR) with a thermal output of 50 MW, designed to operate at around 150°C. It is designed to only produce heat and is focused on district heating, as well as industrial steam production and desalination projects. The LDR-50 district heating SMR has been under development at VTT since 2020.
The goal is to create a digital twin reactor using Apros software developed jointly by Fortum and VTT. “We are very pleased that Steady Energy wants to use dynamic simulation to ensure their design quality and has chosen Fortum to support their project,” said Toni Salminen, Director, Sales at Fortum, Apros product area. “The Apros software … is suitable for the modelling needs of a nuclear power plant throughout the nuclear power life cycle, both for verifying the initial design material and for supporting the commissioning of the plant. For us, cooperation with Steady Energy offers an interesting opportunity to utilise our decades of power plant expertise in the development of new small-scale nuclear power.”
“For Steady Energy, this is a significant partnership and a great opportunity to utilise Fortum’s expertise in the development of a Finnish reactor,” said Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman.
Apros is an advanced software product for modelling and dynamic simulation of power plants, energy systems and industrial processes. Apros products and services have been sold in more than 30 countries around the world to a wide range of users. “Fortum’s experts are among the best in Finland, but also world-class. We look forward to learning from each other and developing the world’s best product together,” commented Steady Energy CTO Hannes Haapalahti.
The LDR-50 reactor design is being assessed by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK – Säteilyturvakeskus). The aim is for construction of the first plant to begin in 2029. Steady Energy has already signed agreements for 15 reactors in Finland and in December 2024 signed a contract with Belgian engineering firm Tractebel to provide engineering services to develop the LDR-150.
