SMR projects advance as part of Sweden’s nuclear efforts

Six Sealer SMRs: Blykalla envisions the Norrsundet site as home to six of its 55-MWe Sealer SMRs, which are designed for hyperscalers and energy-intensive industries.

To proceed to construction, the Norrsundet project still must obtain approvals from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, the Land and Environment Court, the Swedish government, the Gävle Municipality, and other authorities. In the meantime, Blykalla plans to continue site investigations and detailed studies for the project, as well as dialogue with local stakeholders. If all necessary approvals are obtained, the SMR park could become operational in the early 2030s.

Blykalla CEO Jakob Stedman noted that the company’s decision to move forward with the Norrsundet project “is based both on the site’s favorable conditions and the growing need for stable, fossil-free electricity to enable industrial development. Gävle is a strategically important location where new power generation can support long-term growth and strengthen competitiveness.”

ReFirm South program: Kärnfull Next’s Valdemarsvik project is one element of the company’s ReFirm South program, which also includes additional sites in southern Sweden for SMR deployment in southern Sweden. The company intends to submit applications for other ReFirm South sites later in 2026. The application for the Valdemarsvik SMR campus is the first part of a licensing process that also will require environmental and nuclear regulatory approvals.

Kärnfull Next CEO Christian Sjölander said that the Valdemarsvik application “is a clear step from concept to formal permitting. Sweden needs new dispatchable, fossil-free power—particularly in the south—and this application shows that real projects are now moving forward.”

Government reforms: Kärnfull Next’s application takes advantage of the Act on Government Approval of Nuclear Facilities, which offers an early-stage government approval process to improve predictability and speed the deployment of new nuclear projects. That act is one of several reforms recently made by the Swedish government to promote and accelerate new nuclear deployment.

Last October, Sweden and Finland hosted the Nordic-Baltic Nuclear Investment Summit in Stockholm to attract nuclear investors and industry leaders. The summit highlighted a number of Swedish government reforms, including a new financing model with state-backed loans, more predictable revenues for investors, and faster permitting processes (represented by the Act on Government Approval of Nuclear Facilities). Government officials emphasized at the summit that Sweden “welcomes partnerships across the global nuclear value chain” and that “Sweden is open for business.”

The Swedish government’s Budget Bill for 2026 describes new economic frameworks for negotiations with companies that apply for state aid, including the terms regarding loans for long-term investments in nuclear power. The Ministry of Finance explained that the “economic frameworks are based on expected lending for construction of new reactors totaling SEK 220 billion [about $24 billion] over 12 years and expected future annual expenditures for hedging arrangements totaling an average of SEK 1–3 billion per year over 40 years, once the reactors have been commissioned.” The ministry added that the level of state aid “is planned to comprise investments concerning a maximum total installed capacity of approximately 5,000 MW.”

Coastal nuclear facilities: Sweden’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Climate and Enterprise issued a press release last October stating that the government “is continuing to create the conditions for new nuclear power and thereby laying the foundations for an effective climate transition that drives Sweden forward. To strengthen the power system and meet society’s need for fossil-free electricity where and when it is needed, it is now proposed that it be permissible to construct nuclear facilities along the entire Swedish coast. Under this proposal, the current prohibition on establishing new nuclear facilities in certain coastal areas will be removed.”

Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari was quoted as saying, “Nuclear facilities must be located on sites with adequate conditions. The current prohibition rules out sites that could be suitable, without any option for an individual evaluation in the specific case. The legislative amendments would create conditions for more actors looking to construct and invest in coastal nuclear facilities.”