Partnership to develop pumps for Swedish SMR design

Monday, 13 January 2025

Under the collaboration, Blykalla and KSB will design, develop, and manufacture pumps capable of operating in liquid lead environments.

“Pumps are one of the most critical components in a liquid lead-cooled reactor, as their operational lifetime impacts the reactor’s overall need for maintenance and hence cost-effectiveness,” Blykalla said.

“We are very pleased to work with KSB, a global leader in their field, whose expertise and innovation will play a role in the development of our reactor systems,” said Blykalla CEO Jacob Stedman. “This collaboration is an important milestone as we continue to advance our mission of building Europe’s first advanced SMR.”

Andreas Hefter, Vice President Nuclear Energy at KSB, added: “We are delighted to partner with Blykalla on this groundbreaking project. Our know-how based on experience out of decades in the nuclear industry and the knowledge in high-temperature equipment is a perfect match for the innovative SEALER technology.”

Blykalla – formerly called LeadCold – is a spin-off from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where lead-cooled reactor systems have been under development since 1996. The company – founded in 2013 as a joint stock company – is developing the SEALER (Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor).

Together with Uniper, OKG, KTH and the Swedish Energy Agency, Blykalla will build an electric research reactor in Oskarshamn. The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded a SEK99 million (USD9.3 million) grant for the project.

A demonstration SEALER (SEALER-D) is planned to have a thermal output of 80 MW. As in future commercial reactors from Blykalla, the fuel rods will be cooled by 800 tonnes of liquid lead. The reactor will have a height and diameter of about 5 metres.

Blykalla’s goal is for its first 140 MWt SEALER-55 commercial reactor to be ready for operation in the early 2030s.