Aleh Cherp

Sweden’s nuclear applications now cover up to ~11 GW, potentially exceeding the government’s 10 GW ambition for 2045 💥 Last week, I posted an updated map showing applications covering up to ~8 GW of new nuclear capacity in Sweden. I thought this would be the last update in a while. Turns out, I was wrong the very next day. Now I’m starting to run out of space on the map. Fortum-owned NuCore Energi has now applied for state aid for a new nuclear project in Oskarshamn with a potential capacity of 1.2-3.4 GW. And today, another one of the projects moved significantly forward. Studsvik has selected GE Vernova Hitachi and Samsung C&T as strategic collaborators for its ReFirm programme. The first project is now planned around four BWRX-300 reactors with a combined capacity of approximately 1.2 GW. This takes the maximum capacity covered by applications for new nuclear in Sweden to around 11 GW. That is now above the 10 GW level the Swedish government has used in its nuclear roadmap for 2045. There's now a total of seven proposed sites in the pipeline: 1️⃣ Videberg Kraft at Ringhals has applied for state aid for new nuclear. Rolls-Royce SMR has since been selected as supplier, with the project planned around three 470 MW reactors with a combined capacity of around 1.4 GW. 2️⃣ Kärnfull Next – a Studsvik company, has applied for site approval in Valdemarsvik for 4-6 SMRs with a total capacity of around 1.2-1.6 GW. Both Valdemarsvik and Nyköping are included in Studsvik’s ReFirm state-aid application and is one of two possible locations for the first 1.2 GW BWRX-300 project by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Samsung C&T Corporation. 3️⃣ Blykalla has applied for both site approval and state aid for its project at Norrsundet. The project consists of six SEALER-55 reactors with a combined capacity of 330 MW. 4️⃣ Studsvik has applied for site approval at its existing site in Nyköping for 2-4 light-water reactors with a total capacity of around 0.6-1.4 GW. 5️⃣ Nordic Baseload Power AB has applied for both site approval and state aid for new nuclear at Barsebäck. The project consists of two large-scale boiling water reactors with a combined capacity of around 2.5 GW. 6️⃣ Blykalla has applied for site approval for a second reactor park at Untra in Tierp municipality. The project could consist of up to eight SEALER reactors with a combined capacity of up to 440 MW. No state-aid application has been announced for this project so far. 7️⃣ Fortum has applied for state aid for a new nuclear project at Oskarshamn covering 1.2-3.4 GW. The reactor technology has not yet been selected, with Fortum working with EDF and Westinghouse Electric Company and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co.,Ltd. on large-scale reactor alternatives and GE Vernova Hitachi on the SMR alternative. The ~11 GW figure is the maximum capacity covered by the different applications, so it obviously does not mean that all 11 GW will be built.

Applications covering up to ~8 GW of new nuclear capacity in Sweden 🚀 Only a few months ago, I made a post about applications for up to ~5 GW of new nuclear capacity in Sweden. Well, I already need to update the map. Since then, Nordic Baseload Power has applied for site approval and state support for 2.5 GW of new nuclear at Barsebäck, several of the projects from my original post have moved further ahead, and yesterday Blykalla submitted an application for a second reactor park in Sweden. There are now six proposed sites in Sweden: 1️⃣ Videberg Kraft has applied for state aid for new nuclear at Ringhals. Since my last post, Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected as supplier, with the project now planned around three 470 MW reactors with a combined capacity of 1.4 GW. The Swedish state has also decided to become a 60% owner of Videberg Kraft, alongside Vattenfall and Industrikraft Sverige with 20% each. 2️⃣ Kärnfull Next – a Studsvik company has applied for site approval in Valdemarsvik. The plan covers 4-6 SMRs with a total capacity of around 1.2-1.6 GW. 3️⃣ Blykalla has applied for both site approval and state support for its project in Norrsundet, Gävle. The project consists of six SEALER-55 reactors with a total capacity of 330 MW. 4️⃣ Studsvik has applied for site approval at its existing site in Nyköping, covering 2-4 light-water reactors with a total capacity of around 0.6-1.4 GW. The Nyköping project is also included in Studsvik’s state-aid application, which covers both Nyköping and Valdemarsvik. 5️⃣ Nordic Baseload Power AB has applied for site approval and state aid for two large-scale boiling water reactors at Barsebäck in Southern Sweden, with a combined capacity of around 2.5 GW. 6️⃣ Blykalla has submitted an application for a second reactor park at Untra in the Tierp municipality. The project consists of eight SEALER reactors with a combined capacity of 440 MW. The ~8 GW figure is the maximum capacity covered across the six proposed sites, so it does not mean that all 8 GW will necessarily be built. But Sweden has gone from reopening the door for new nuclear to having several companies developing projects across six different sites, using both conventional light-water reactors and advanced reactor technologies.