Through the Main Services Agreement, AFRY will deliver engineering and advisory services that leverage its deep sector knowledge, regional expertise and extensive presence across Europe. The collaboration is expected to enable Swedish industries to participate in high-value opportunities linked to the growing European and global small modular reactor (SMR) market.
By combining GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GVH’s) proven BWRX-300 technology and global project experience with AFRY’s sector-engineering strength, the collaboration is designed to support efficient, repeatable, and scalable deployment across multiple projects in Europe. In addition to engineering work, AFRY will also support GVH in the development of a licence application for the BWRX-300 to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM).
“This agreement reflects our commitment to building a strong Swedish and European industrial ecosystem around the BWRX-300, going beyond reactor technology to enable long-term collaboration, local capability development and regional value creation,” said GVH CEO Jason Cooper. “Sweden has a strong industrial base and world-class engineering capabilities, and by working with AFRY we are reinforcing our ability to deliver the BWRX-300 while enabling local industry to play a meaningful role in Europe’s energy transition.”
“Through the collaboration with GE Vernova Hitachi, we aim to help position Sweden as a key hub in the future SMR value chain as well as advancing Sweden’s nuclear power programme,” said Elon Hägg, EVP and Head of Global Division Energy at AFRY. “This collaboration connects local expertise with international reach and supports the delivery of reliable, low-carbon energy solutions.”
In March 2022, Swedish SMR project development company Kärnfull Next signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on the deployment of its BWRX-300 in Sweden.
The Swedish government received an application for state aid in December to support proposals for either five GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors or three Rolls-Royce SMRs to provide about 1,500 MW capacity at Ringhals on the Värö Peninsula. The application came from Videberg Kraft AB, a project company owned by Vattenfall AB and backed by a series of industrial firms via the Industrikraft i Sverige AB consortium.
The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GVH’s US Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified ESBWR boiling water reactor design and its existing, licensed GNF2 fuel design. GVH’s first BWRX-300 is under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade.
Last week Poland’s SGE, construction engineering firm Polimex Mostostal and engineering consultant ATEC Group signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the development and deployment of BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Central and Eastern Europe. SGE – part of the MS Galleon Group – is a co-investor in the standard design for the BWRX-300 and is in the process of establishing SMR partnerships and projects in a number of Central and Eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.
In October last year, GVH and South Korea’s Samsung C&T formed a strategic alliance to advance the deployment of BWRX-300 SMRs in strategic global markets outside North America, with a focus on developing the supply chain and project delivery solutions.
