Finnish nuclear startup Steady Energy has signed a one-year pre-planning agreement with power utility Kuopion Energia aimed at constructing a small modular nuclear power plant to start producing district heat in the city of Kuopio in south-central Finland in the early 2030s.
Under the agreement, Kuopion Energia will begin an environmental impact assessment for potential plant locations.
Steady Energy said suitable locations for the plant will be refined during the environmental impact assessment process. It said suitable places might include existing industrial sites.
“The investment decision will be made by Kuopion Energia, which will also seek necessary zoning changes in due course,” Steady Energy said in a statement. “Zoning decisions are the responsibility of the City of Kuopio. The estimated construction time is 3.5 years.”
Steady Energy said in June that it plans to start construction of its first LDR-50 district heating SMR pilot plant in Finland next year.
The company said potential sites include the Finnish capital Helsinki and two other cities. It did not name a final site for the plant, but did say Kuopio was one possible option.
It said construction of the first operational plant is projected to begin by 2028, with the first unit expected to be operational by 2030.
Pilot Plant Will Be First Of Kind In Finland
The pilot plant – the first of its kind in Finland and one of only a few close to deployment globally – will serve as a full-scale, operational model of the Finnish-designed SMR unit.
Unlike the actual power plant, the pilot unit will use an electric element to produce heat inside the reactor capsule instead of nuclear fuel.
Steady Energy said the main purpose is to test operational features and to establish the supply chains needed to build actual plants.
Steady Energy’s unit, comparable in size to an upright shipping container, can be built entirely underground or on an existing industrial site.
The company has already signed letters of intent for the delivery of up to 15 reactors for district heating with Helsinki’s local utility Helen and Kuopio Energy.
Finland is largely heated by district heating, mostly from fossil fuels, peat and wood.
District heating systems take energy released as heat from a range of energy sources – in this case an SMR – and connect it to energy consumers through a system of highly insulated pipes. One advantage of SMRs would be their low emissions.
