Sweden's state-owned power company Vattenfall has announced that it will proceed with small modular reactors (SMRs) for its planned new nuclear power plant, selecting GE Vernova Hitachi's BWRX-300 and the British Rolls-Royce SMR as the two shortlisted technologies. This decision marks a significant step for SMR advocates, as Vattenfall's contract would be a major boost for whichever vendor wins.
Vattenfall plans to deploy 1.5 GW of new nuclear capacity on the Värö Peninsula, home to the Ringhals nuclear power plant. This capacity would be achieved through either five GE Vernova BWRX-300 SMRs, each producing 300 MW, or three Rolls-Royce SMRs, each capable of generating 470 MWe. The company stated that these suppliers offer SMRs with proven technology, simplified designs, and established fuel supply chains, aiming to have the new capacity operational in the early 2030s.
The SMR approach was favored over large reactors due to clear cost advantages, reduced space requirements, fewer personnel, and more manageable logistics, which are expected to lower construction risks and costs. Vattenfall's evaluation process, which started with 75 potential suppliers, highlighted the SMRs' learning potential from serial construction. Beyond this initial 1.5 GW project, Vattenfall is already planning for an additional 1 GW of new nuclear capacity, and other developers are also pursuing separate nuclear ambitions in Sweden. The project involves collaboration with the Swedish industry consortium Industrikraft, and Vattenfall will submit an application for state risk-sharing before making a final supplier selection and investment decisions. energyintel.com, ans.org, rolls-royce.com, world-nuclear-news.org
