The enterprise value of Kärnfull Next – which specialises in technology-agnostic small modular reactor (SMR) project development – in the transaction is about EUR6.5 million (USD7.5 million) on a cash-free, debt-free, basis. EUR3 million will be paid in cash and EUR3.5 million in newly issued Studsvik shares at closing. Additional consideration of up to EUR2 million in shares may be payable through staged payments to 2029, alongside performance-based earn-outs of up to EUR14 million linked to the successful development and sale of project development companies.
Subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026.
“The move marks a strategic step as governments and industry increasingly turn to nuclear power to support energy security, electrification, and net-zero ambitions,” Studsvik said. “By adding project development capability, Studsvik will now be able to support nuclear projects from their earliest stages through to operation and decommissioning … the company is expected to announce further partnerships that demonstrate how this expanded capability will be applied in practice.”
“Together, Studsvik and Kärnfull Next will build a truly integrated nuclear services platform – and establish Studsvik as the home for entrepreneurial ambition in nuclear,” said Daniel Aegerter, founder and CEO of Armada Investment AG and the largest shareholder in Studsvik.
Studsvik AB President and CEO Karl Thedéen added: “Kärnfull Next’s project development expertise combined with Studsvik’s unrivalled technical capabilities creates a compelling platform for growth.”
Under the agreement, Kärnfull Next founders Christian Sjölander and John Ahlberg will join Studsvik’s executive team. “Together, we will accelerate Studsvik’s transformation into a truly integrated nuclear services champion,” they said.
In 2023, Studsvik signed a memorandum of understanding with Kärnfull Next to investigate the possibility of constructing and operating SMRs on the Studsvik industrial site near Nyköping on Sweden’s east coast. Studsvik said the site is in a strategic location and houses the company’s broad expertise in nuclear technology, including fuel and materials technology, reactor analysis software and fuel optimisation, decommissioning and radiation protection services as well as technical solutions for handling, conditioning and volume reduction of radioactive waste.
In March 2022, Kärnfull Next signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Sweden.
Kärnfull Next has been conducting site selection and feasibility studies in several municipalities in Sweden since 2022. By establishing multiple SMR parks as part of the same programme, the company expects to achieve economies of scale in terms of technology selection, construction partners, power purchase agreements and financing partners. In February last year, the company secured land rights for the project to build a power plant based on SMRs in the municipality of Valdemarsvik in Östergötland county in southeastern Sweden.
