Plans for Swedish SMR Advances Under New Act

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

Summary

The first application to build a small modular reactor (SMR) plant has been submitted under Sweden's new Act on Government Approval of Nuclear Facilities.

Sweden's Kärnfull Next has submitted the first application for a nuclear power plant based on small modular reactor (SMR) technology under the new Act on Government Approval of Nuclear Facilities. 

The Project

The proposed SMR campus in the Valdemarsvik Municipality will consist of between four and six small light water reactors. Kärnfull Next signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 with GE Vernova Hitachi for the deployment of its BWRX-300 in Sweden. It is also working with Finnish state energy company Fortum to develop and package ready-to-build projects. "This is a clear step from concept to formal permitting," said Christian Sjölander, chief executive officer of Kärnfull Next. "Sweden needs new dispatchable, fossil-free power -- particularly in the south -- and this application shows that real projects are now moving forward." The Valdemarsvik project is part of Kärnfull's ReFirm South program, a portfolio of sites being developed for SMR deployment across southern Sweden. It will submit additional applications for other ReFirm sites later this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the report. 

Pro-Nuclear Government

The project has been formally submitted to Johan Britz, Minister for Employment and acting Minister for Climate and the Environment, and hopes to take advantage of the government's new pro-nuclear power legislation. It includes an early-stage government approval process designed to improve predictability and accelerate the deployment of new nuclear capacity. A number of bills have been submitted by the country's pro-nuclear ruling party to support more nuclear power. These include proposals to encourage existing and new nuclear power developers to propose projects, changes to environmental rules to let nuclear plants be placed in more coastal locations, and also to allow for the restarting of shut-down reactors. Sweden has six offline reactors with existing laws preventing their restart. Minister Britz said: "When more companies are given the opportunity to build new nuclear power, we strengthen competition and innovation in the energy sector, which is good for both the climate and jobs." 

Sweden's Nuclear Push

Sweden generates slightly less than a third of its power from nuclear energy, and the government wants to boost its nuclear fleet with the addition of 10 reactors over the next 20 years. As part of this nuclear energy push, Industrial Info reported last year that the government is planning to scrap the 2018 mining ban on uranium. For additional information, see September 08, 2025, article - Sweden Drafts Law to End Ban on Uranium Mining. 

New Owners 

Swedish nuclear technical services provider Studsvik acquired Kärnfull Next in March. As part of its shift into the development of SMR projects, it also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with U.K. SMR developer Rolls-Royce SMR to offer support services for its factory-built mini-nuclear power plant offering--a 470-megawatt (MW) small pressurised reactor. 

New SMR Projects

In recent weeks, SMR developer Blykalla confirmed that it will seek planning permission later this year for an SMR park in Norrsundet, Gävle, Sweden. It comes after the company said that initial site assessments have been positive for its proposed project consisting of six of its lead-cooled Swedish Advanced Lead Reactors (SEALERs), with a total capacity of approximately 300 MW. 

Key Takeaways

• Kärnfull Next has submitted the first application for a Swedish nuclear power plant based on small modular reactor (SMR) technology under the new nuclear fast-tracking legislation.
• The proposed SMR campus in the Valdemarsvik Municipality will consist of 4-6 small light water reactors.
• New government legislation wants to speed-up nuclear power investment with faster permitting, a wider selection of coastal locations and options to restart offline reactors. 

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