Norway considers deploying Korean SMRs

Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft AS and South Korean nuclear giant Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) are jointly preparing a feasibility study for a nuclear power plant using multiple i-SMR small modular reactors. The project is planned in the Norwegian municipalities of Aure and Heim.

The feasibility study, which is expected to begin in the second half of 2025, has been included in the international support programme of South Korea’s export bank, Korea Eximbank. Its goal will be to assess the technical, environmental and regulatory conditions for building several i-SMR reactors designed and developed by KHNP.

The i-SMR is an integrated pressurised water reactor with an electrical output of 170 MW. Development is proceeding according to schedule, with the aim of completing the design by the end of 2025 and obtaining standard design approval in 2028. According to KHNP, the technology requires only one-third of the investment costs of large reactors, and construction can be completed in half the time.

Norwegian initiative in cooperation with KHNP

Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft was founded in April 2025 as a partnership between the municipalities of Aure and Heim, local energy company NEAS and Norwegian nuclear developer Norsk Kjernekraft. Its goal is to build a nuclear power plant comprising multiple SMR units. In January, KHNP signed a memorandum of understanding with Norsk Kjernekraft, in which the two parties pledged to cooperate on preliminary studies and exchange information about i-SMR technology.

“We want to build nuclear power in Norway in much the same way as we built the oil and gas industry—by working with global leaders,” said Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft CEO Steffen Oliver Sæle.

“Our cooperation with KHNP, which built the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, is a concrete example of this strategy,” Sæle added.

Local authorities’ perspective and next steps

According to local authorities, SMR technology has the potential to boost the regional economy and ensure a stable electricity supply. Norsk Kjernekraft plans not only to develop SMR plants, but also to own and operate them in cooperation with energy-intensive industry. It intends to follow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) methodology and focus on creating value at an early stage of the project.

Aure and Heim is one of four possible locations where Norsk Kjernekraft is considering building an SMR plant. Other locations include Vardø, Øygarden and Halden. In November 2023, the company submitted a proposal to assess the possibility of building a plant in the Taftøy industrial zone, which lies on the border between the municipalities of Aure and Heim. If fully developed, the plant could reach an output of up to 1500 MWe.

In April this year, the Norwegian government tasked several agencies with preparing a programme to assess the project’s environmental impact.