Sweden’s biggest industrial firms have signed an agreement with Vattenfall to become shareholders in the power giant’s new company, Videberg Kraft AB, which plans to build small modular reactors (SMRs) in the country.
One of Europe’s top electric utilities, Vattenfall, created Videberg Kraft AB in April this year as a separate entity to be able to apply for government support.
Now the company and the industry organization, Industrikraft, plan joint investment and collaboration enabling the development of new nuclear power in Sweden.
Industrikraft, whose members include Volvo Group, Saab, Alfa Laval, and Hitachi Energy, will become a shareholder in Videberg Kraft with a 20-percent stake.
The government has previously announced that the state also intends to become a shareholder in the new company.
Industrikraft will invest $42 million (400 million Swedish crowns) in Videberg Kraft. In addition to co-financing the project, the industry contributes with resources and capabilities in project execution and selection of technologies.
The Swedish government moved to phase out nuclear power completely in 1980, but that decision was reversed by Parliament in 2010. Five years later, four aging reactors were shut down. Six of 12 reactors remain in operation in Sweden today.
The country is now betting on SMRs to expand its nuclear fleet as Stockholm seeks to further reduce emissions with low-carbon 24/7 energy.
Sweden has tweaked its renewable energy policy, which had called for 100% renewable electricity by 2040, changing the terminology to “100% fossil-free” electricity, paving the way for the construction of more nuclear power plants.
The Parliament of Sweden approved in late 2023 a new energy bill, paving the way for the construction of additional nuclear reactors beyond the 10 originally approved.
Vattenfall in August shortlisted U.S. firm GE Vernova and British company Rolls-Royce SMR as potential suppliers of SMRs. Both suppliers could deliver within a reasonable timeframe and budget, taking into account the conditions of the Värö Peninsula along the Swedish west coast, Vattenfall said in August, adding that the process now continues towards selecting a final supplier.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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