Swedenadvancedits nuclear revival withtwo major filings for new capacityand a government proposal to commit up to$3.7 billion in state capitalfor SMR projects.
On May 18th,Blykallasubmittedthe first applicationfor an advanced reactor park under Sweden’s new siting process. The Norrsundet site would host six 55-MWe SEALER lead-cooled reactors, for 330 MWe total.
CEO Jacob Stedman called it a historic first for Sweden, and linked the technology to meeting AI and electrification demand with reliable baseload power. Blykalla has a prototype facility underway at Oskarshamn with Uniper and partnerships with Oklo and ABB.
Studsvikfiledin May for 600-1400 MWe of SMR capacityat its Nyköping site. This follows the Studsvik group’s earlier Marchapplicationfor Valdemarsvik. CEO Karl Thedéen highlighted the site’s decades of expertise and the intention to deliver real grid capacity in the 2030s as part of the company’s ReFirm program.
The government also recentlyproposedto acquire a 60% stake in Videberg Kraft AB, the Vattenfall-led project company for up to 1500 MWe at Ringhals. Vattenfall is the state-owned utility company.
The support package includes an initial SEK 1.8 billion ($193 million) injection andup to SEK 34.3 billion (~$3.7 billion) during construction, plus a share of SEK 122 billion (~$13 billion) baseline waste system costs. The structure aims to de-risk the first mover so later projects share fixed costs. Videberg is choosing between five GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300s or three Rolls-Royce SMRs, with selection later this year and investment decision in 2029.
Goldmanprovidedsome additional color on Swedish nuclear projects in their recent industry summary. We also touched on Studsvik’sacquisitionof Kärnfull Next, which highlights the ongoing skilled engineering manpower bottleneck.
Timelines for first power remain in the early 2030s, with visible construction still months or years away. Sweden shows what policy certainty and state capital can achieve in spurring applications, butChina’s pace of actual reactor buildsremains the benchmark for delivery.
Source: ZeroHedge News
