The photo is sourced from GEH
The feasibility study is expected to be completed in December 2023, after which the parties will start raising funds, obtaining regulatory approvals and signing contracts with future power consumers. Potential participants in the project include U.S.-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, with which Kärnfull Next previously signed a memorandum to introduce the BWRX-300 reactor to Scandinavian countries, and Finland’s Fortum, with which Kärnfull Next signed a memorandum in 2022 on the joint development of technologies for small modular reactors.
The project could become the first step towards creating a Swedish fleet of small modular reactors, which would also be equipped with solid oxide electrolysers for hydrogen production. These electrolysers split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen at temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius. Unlike units with an alkaline or proton exchange membrane (PEM), which operate at temperatures of no more than 80 degrees Celsius, solid oxide electrolysers have lower specific power consumption. However, they require an external source of thermal energy, and SNPPs could be used for that purpose.
“When it comes to low-carbon energy sources, nuclear power is the only energy source that can produce electricity and heat. Keep in mind that we need heat for both warming and cooling. Heat is also used in many industrial processes. This is why it is very important to have access to both heat and electricity. And that wonderful capability is provided by small modular reactors,” Sama Bilbao y León, director general of World Nuclear Association, told Sergey Brilev, President of the Global Energy Association, in an interview earlier.
Today, a total of six nuclear reactors with a net capacity of 5.8 gigawatts (GW) that were built back in the 1980s are operating in Sweden. According to the Ember think tank, they accounted for 30% of the country’s power generation in 2022, with the remaining 70% coming from hydro (40%), wind and solar (21%), as well as biomass (7%) and diesel units (2%). Until recently, less than 1% of Sweden’s power generation was provided by coal-fired power plants, but the country completely stopped using them in 2020.
