Fortum launches study to build new nuclear capacity in Finland and Sweden

The Finnish state-owned energy group Fortum has launched a two-year feasibility study to explore potential for constructing new nuclear power plants in Finland and Sweden. With this study, the company will examine the commercial, technological, societal and regulatory conditions both for small modular reactors (SMRs) and conventional large reactors.

Simultaneously, the new coalition government of Sweden has instructed the Swedish state-owned power producer Vattenfall to build more nuclear capacity in the country and asked the group to start planning new nuclear builds at Ringhals (Southwestern Sweden) and other suitable locations. The Swedish authorities are also expected make regulatory changes to simplify the process for nuclear builds, including introducing a regulatory fast-track for reactor types that have been approved in other EU countries. Vattenfall is already working on a feasibility study to possibly build two SMRs in Ringhals.

At the end of 2021, Sweden had 6 active nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 6.9 GW: Forsmark 1-2-3 (3.3 GW), Oskarshamn 3 (1.4 GW), and Ringhals 3-4 (2.2 GW). This amounted to about 15% of the country’s installed capacity. Vattenfall possesses a majority stake in the operators of the Ringhals and Forsmark plants.

In early October 2022, the operator of Finland’s Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), announced that the plant’s unit 3 reached full power. The Olkiluoto nuclear plant, located in southwestern Finland, currently holds three units, with Olkiluoto 1 and 2 reaching 880 MW each and Olkiluto 3 reaching 1.6 GW. The plant is owned by TVO (73%) and Fortum (27%). Fortum also operates the 1 GW Loviisa nuclear plant in southern Finland. At the end of 2020, nuclear represented 16% of Finland’s total installed capacity with 2.8 GW (doesn’t include Olikiluoto 3).