Under the agreement, TVONS will advise on the key stages of the project, from project initiation and permit preparations to the assessment of delivery models and support for commissioning and operational preparation. “The goal of the collaboration is to ensure that Fermi’s small modular reactor (SMR) project progresses in accordance with international requirements, good practices, and safety standards,” the partners said.
“We are pleased to support Fermi Energy in the development of their small reactor project,” said Ari Leppänen, CEO of TVO Nuclear Services. “TVONS’ role is to bring experience and practical solutions to the project that will contribute to its safe and efficient implementation.”
“Based on the cooperation agreement, we have launched the next phase of the work and will announce the progress of the project at the appropriate stages,” said Henri Ormus, Member of the Board of Fermi Energia.
TVO Nuclear Services (TVONS) is a consulting company wholly owned by Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), owner of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. It was founded in 1998 to share TVO’s expertise in the operation of Olkiluoto’s two boiling water reactors (units 1 and 2), the construction of the first-of-a-kind EPR reactor (unit 3), as well as radioactive waste management.
In June last year, TVONS announced it had expanded its service portfolio to include the advisory and expert services required for the preparatory and planning stages of SMR projects. At the time, TVONS said it would offer SMR project developers services based on its extensive experience with safety standards and regulatory requirements; practice-oriented expertise in overall project management; supporting services from design through the commissioning and operational stages; knowledge required to build up the future operating organisation during the project stage; a client-driven approach, working as part of the client’s core team throughout the project; and operating models refined over the decades to support risk management and successful implementation of projects.
TVONS has already provided consultancy services related to SMRs. In June 2023, it signed a letter of intent with Norsk Kjernekraft to jointly investigate the deployment of small modular reactors in Norway. In April 2024, TVONS signed a collaboration agreement with Steady Energy – the Finnish developer of the LDR-50 small modular reactor – related to the development of a nuclear heating plant, initially focusing on the planning of the nuclear facility’s operation and safety.
Estonian SMR project
Fermi Energia was founded by Estonian energy and nuclear energy professionals to develop deployment of SMRs in Estonia. In July 2019, the company launched a feasibility study on the suitability of SMRs for Estonia’s electricity supply and climate goals beyond 2030, following a financing round from investors and shareholders.
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A visualisation of a two unit BWRX-300 power plant (Image: Fermi Energia)
In February 2023, the company selected GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 SMR for potential deployment by the early 2030s. The BWRX-300 design is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of the company’s ESBWR boiling water reactor.
Fermi Energia expects to submit a construction permit application for the proposed plant in 2029, with construction targeted to begin in 2031. The first of two SMRs is intended to be operational by the second half of 2035.
In April last year, Fermi Energia and South Korea’s Samsung C&T signed a teaming agreement to collaborate on the deployment of two BWRX-300 SMRs in Estonia. Under the teaming agreement, the cooperation between Fermi Energia and Samsung C&T will focus on key aspects of the project, including the formation of an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) partnership, site constructability review, cost estimation, and financing strategies. The agreement also positions Samsung C&T as a potential EPC Prime Contractor and key commercial partner in the Estonian SMR project. This collaboration built upon a memorandum of understanding signed between the two companies in November 2024.
