Sweden's state-owned power company, Vattenfall, has chosen GE Vernova Hitachi's BWRX-300 and the British Rolls-Royce SMR as the two finalists for its new nuclear power plant project. This decision follows a thorough evaluation process that initially considered 75 potential suppliers for new nuclear capacity in Sweden, ultimately narrowing down to four reactors, including large-scale units from Westinghouse, EDF, or Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, before selecting the two SMR technologies as the most suitable.
Vattenfall plans to deploy approximately 1.5 GW of new nuclear capacity on the Värö Peninsula, home to the Ringhals nuclear power plant. This could involve five GE Vernova BWRX-300 SMRs or three Rolls-Royce SMRs, which are expected to be operational in the early 2030s. The company highlighted that building a series of smaller units offers clear cost advantages, requires less space and personnel, and leads to more manageable logistics, simplifying the construction phase.
Beyond this initial 1.5 GW project, Vattenfall is already exploring further expansion with an additional 1 GW where Ringhals 1 and 2 are currently located. The selected SMR designs are noted for their proven technology, simplified designs, and established fuel supply chains, with both technologies also being advanced in other projects globally (e.g., BWRX-300 with Ontario Power Generation, and Rolls-Royce SMR in the UK and Czech Republic). The next steps involve submitting an application for state risk-sharing and making a final supplier selection, with an industry consortium, Industrikraft, showing interest in co-investment with Vattenfall.
