SWEDEN HAS APPROVED ROLLS ROYCE FOR A FLEET OF SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTORS

Posted on by

Rolls-Royce SMR was successful in the Swedish nuclear selection process 12th June 2024. It has won a place on Vattenfall’s shortlist of just two SMR companies competing to potentially deploy a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Sweden.

Vattenfall, the Swedish multinational power company, has announced the shortlist of two SMR vendors as part of its plans to meet the rising electricity demand, adding nuclear capacity and helping Sweden achieve its goal of creating a fossil-free economy by 2045. The other successful SMR was GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300.

This selection follows a thorough assessment process in which Rolls-Royce SMR had the opportunity to present a fundamentally different approach to building nuclear projects and a modularisation strategy focused on risk reduction to Vattenfall, an experienced and technically respected energy utility.

Rolls-Royce SMR CEO, Chris Cholerton, said: “We are delighted to be one of the two SMR technologies selected by Vattenfall for further evaluation in Sweden. Success in reaching the final two, in such a fiercely competitive process, reflects the benefits of our integrated power station design, our approach to modularisation, and our use of proven nuclear technology.

“Rolls-Royce SMR is the fastest and most affordable way of bringing new nuclear power online and we are excited to work with utilities and industrial customers around the globe, to unlock sustainable sources of low-cost, low-carbon electricity for decades to come.”

Vattenfall’s focus will be deployment at the Ringhals nuclear site with a project that, at the earliest, is operational in the first half of the 2030s, with assessments for SMR and large-scale reactors ongoing.

Sweden has said it needs an additional 100-250 TWh of electricity production over the next 25 years and Vattenfall is poised to play a critical role in the country’s energy transition, including integrating new nuclear capacity into the energy mix.

Rolls-Royce SMR is on track to complete Step 2 and immediately enter Step 3 of the Generic Design Assessment by the UK nuclear industry’s independent regulators this summer. This will be the most important regulatory milestone to date – confirming Rolls-Royce SMR’s first-mover advantage as the leading technology in Europe.

IN THE LAST DAYS – RUMOURS OF WARS

Posted on by

The Swedes have issued a civil defence pamphlet to each of its 4.8 million households, titled ‘Om krisen eller kriget kommer’ (‘If crisis or war comes’).

In recent years Sweden has decided to double its defence budget, rising from 53 billion kronor (AU$9.8 billion) to around 115 billion kronor (AU$17.5 billion) by 2035.

Image result for picture of the restored Swedish garrison on the Island of Gotland

In January, it reintroduced conscription and in September last year, amidst its largest military exercise in 23 years, Sweden restored the garrison on the Baltic island of Gotland.

Ms Nyh Radebo, a defence ministry spokeswoman, said the return to conscription was prompted by ‘the security change in our neighbourhood’.

‘The Russian illegal annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine and the increased military activity in our neighbourhood are some of the reasons.’

Towns have been instructed to dust off their civil defence documents and inspect and upgrade the old cold war bunkers.

Denmark and Sweden have agreed to boost defence ties to fight Russian cyber-attacks, and negotiations have been conducted to purchase the Patriot missile system from the United States.

‘…What was unthinkable five years ago is no longer unthinkable’ said Martin Kragh, from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

The civil defence pamphlet is unequivocal in its instruction to the Swedes.

‘If we are attacked’, it says, ‘we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.

The issuing of such a pamphlet is a measure the Swedes haven’t felt necessary since the darkest days of the Cold War. Throughout the 20th and 21st Century, they’ve stuck firmly by their policy of ‘armed neutrality’, avoiding involvement in any serious military conflict since 1814. Internationally, their defence posture has been benign. They possess no nuclear weapons and they have disavowed chemical and biological warfare.

The most dangerous mission Swedish troops have been involved in has been keeping the peace. And yet, this latest rumour of war, made ever ominous by the conduct of their neighbour, Russia, has forced a rethink about the unimaginable by senior government and defence planners.