Finland begins construction of pilot facility for small modular reactor concept
Finnish company Steady Energy has begun construction of a full-scale, non-nuclear pilot facility for its LDR-50 small modular reactor concept, designed for district heating. The first concrete was poured on 12 February in the turbine hall of the decommissioned Salmisaari B coal-fired power plant in Helsinki. Finland’s Minister of Climate and the Environment, Sari Multala, also attended the ceremony.
The pilot unit is intended to serve as an operational model of a full-scale reactor module. Unlike the future nuclear facility, it will not use nuclear fuel: heat will be generated by an electric heating element inside the reactor vessel (capsule). The aim is to test its operating characteristics while also verifying the manufacturing and supply chains needed to build commercial units.
Connection to Helen’s district heating network
Once completed, the facility is expected to supply heat to energy company Helen’s district heating network, with a capacity of approximately 6 MWt. The project’s investment budget is estimated at EUR 15–20 million (CZK 364–485 million) and is to be financed from capital Steady Energy previously raised from investors.
Steady Energy and Helen have signed an agreement to lease the building of the decommissioned Salmisaari B power plant for the pilot project. The lease runs until 2028. According to Steady Energy, the entire reactor module will fit inside the turbine hall and will not affect the cityscape.
End of coal-fired power generation in Helsinki
Helen ended coal-fired power generation when it closed the Salmisaari power plant last year. According to the company, this step was expected to reduce CO2 emissions in Helsinki by approximately 30%. The company has stated its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and switching to fuel-free heat production by 2040.
According to a study by VTT, one of Europe’s leading research organisations, deploying small modular reactors (SMRs) could make a significant contribution to reducing emissions in the heating sector, providing a zero-emission source of heat that would gradually replace coal- and gas-fired heating plants.
Key parameters of the LDR-50 SMR
The LDR-50 concept has been under development at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland since 2020. It is a district-heating SMR with a thermal capacity of 50 MWt. Steady Energy says the design is intended to operate at a nominal temperature of approximately 150 °C and a pressure below 1 MPa. These conditions are less demanding in terms of pressure and temperature parameters, as well as requirements for structural materials, than those of conventional power reactors. This is expected to simplify the technical solutions while maintaining the high safety standards of the nuclear industry.
The company also says the reactor module is comparable in size to a shipping container and that future commercial facilities are to be located underground.
Other projects and international expansion
Steady Energy, established in May 2023 as a spin-off from VTT, says it is developing several projects in Finland and has further plans in Poland, Sweden and South Korea. In a recent LinkedIn post, the company announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fermi Energia, aiming to advance deployment of the LDR-50 district-heating SMR concept in Germany, particularly in light of the need to decarbonise the heating sector.
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
