Sweden's state-owned energy company „Vattenfall“ has chosen British „Rolls-Royce“ to build small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) at the „Ringhals“ nuclear power plant, located in the southwest of the country, reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
The Swedish government chose small modular reactor technology last year for its first expansion of its nuclear capacity in half a century.
„Vattenfall“ preferred the British company over the American „G.I. Vernova“ (GE Vernova) for the project, which envisages the construction of three reactors with a total capacity of about 1,500 megawatts - approximately the same as two standard reactors.
The Swedish company states that the decision is based on an assessment of costs, risk sharing and the supplier's experience, including its participation in similar programs in the UK and the Czech Republic.
“This is the best offer we have received in terms of the overall result of the cost assessments - fixed and variable costs, risk sharing, and we also took into account the responsibilities that we expect the supplier to take on in the contract“, said the CEO of “Vattenfall“ Anna Borg.
She added that the project will be part of a wider European program for the development of technologies for small modular nuclear reactors, which will allow for the sharing of costs and technical expertise between different countries.
„We will be part of a larger European program, as these reactors will also be built in the UK and the Czech Republic. "We will therefore be able to share development costs and lessons learned with geographically close partners," she added.
The first reactor could be built by around 2035, depending on regulatory approvals.
Small modular reactors are significantly smaller than traditional nuclear power plants and can be mass-produced in factories and then transported to the installation site.
Sweden's ruling right-wing coalition announced in 2023 its intention to develop nuclear power in the country.
Sweden currently operates six nuclear reactors at three different nuclear power plants, which were commissioned between 1975 and 1985, AFP reported.