Blykalla and ABB signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to support the development of small modular reactor (SMR) technology in Sweden. Credit: Blykalla.

Swedish nuclear power company Blykalla has partnered with global engineering giant ABB to develop an electric SMR pilot facility in Oskarshamn, a town about 340km south of Stockholm. 

The two companies signed an MOU to collaborate on the development of SMR technology to support Sweden’s clean energy and decarbonisation goals. 

The partnership will initially focus on constructing a “first-of-its-kind” electric testing facility for Blykalla’s SMR prototype SEALER-E, an electric lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), to demonstrate the viability of future SEALER LFR plants. ABB will bring its expertise in automation, electrification and digitalisation to support the project. 

“It is an electric, non-nuclear reactor, meaning we don’t split the atoms. We simulate the temperatures in the core that you would get for nuclear fission using electricity,” Blykalla CEO Jacob Stedman told Power Technology.  

“We don’t split atoms in this testing facility because we want to test a number of things in the safety system, and it is much cheaper and faster to test that in a non-nuclear facility. If you actually have the nuclear fission process, the permitting takes much longer and the cost is much higher.” 

Stedman explained that during his extensive career in software, he has come to believe in the “fail fast” methodology. “The faster you discover a problem, the cheaper and faster you can fix it… So, I think this makes a lot of sense [for the nuclear industry],” he says, recommending that all vendors try “iterative tests in a non-nuclear environment”. 

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles
on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

View profiles in store

Company Profile – free
sample

Your download email will arrive shortly

We are confident about the
unique
quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most
beneficial
decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by
submitting the below form

By GlobalData

Country *
UK
USA
Afghanistan
Åland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire, Sint
Eustatius
and
Saba
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean
Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic

Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Democratic Republic
of
the Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Côte d”Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern
Territories

Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard Island and
McDonald
Islands

Holy See
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
North Korea
South Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao

Macedonia,
The
Former
Yugoslav Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands

Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian Territory
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Réunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint
Helena,
Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saint Vincent and
The
Grenadines

Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South
Georgia
and The South
Sandwich Islands
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands

Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
US Minor Outlying Islands

Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
British Virgin Islands

US Virgin Islands
Wallis and Futuna
Western Sahara
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Kosovo

Industry *

Academia & Education
Aerospace, Defense &
Security
Agriculture
Asset Management
Automotive
Banking & Payments
Chemicals
Construction
Consumer
Foodservice
Government, trade bodies
and NGOs
Health & Fitness
Hospitals & Healthcare

HR, Staffing &
Recruitment
Insurance
Investment Banking
Legal Services
Management Consulting
Marketing & Advertising

Media & Publishing
Medical Devices
Mining
Oil & Gas
Packaging
Pharmaceuticals
Power & Utilities
Private Equity
Real Estate
Retail
Sport
Technology
Telecom
Transportation &
Logistics
Travel, Tourism &
Hospitality
Venture Capital

Tick here to opt out of curated industry news, reports, and event updates from Power Technology.

Submit and
download

Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The test reactor will run 100% on power, using an electrical wire to run a current through liquid lead to heat the lead to the right temperature. Although not equivalent in diameter, it will be the same height as a future nuclear vessel, “allowing for a full-scale simulation of the future reactor” despite not using any uranium, said Stedman. 

Under the scope of the MOU, the two companies will also explore solutions to support future SEALER plants, including cybersecurity measures. 

Due to their diminutive size, SMRs can be deployed in remote areas unsuitable for large-scale nuclear infrastructure. Think tank Chatham House predicts that with increased deployment in more locations, SMRs will have to depend on computer systems to run remotely instead of having staff at each site, increasing cybersecurity risks. 

When asked about how the partnership will address this challenge, Stedman confirmed that Blykalla plans to have on-site staff at all of its sites to prevent such risks. “A completely remote system would be decades away,” he added. 

Sweden is amid a significant nuclear expansion, with a government road map targeting up to 10GW of new nuclear capacity by 2045, a target that this partnership aims to help achieve. Nuclear energy currently provides around 30% of the country’s electricity. 

“The energy transition is one of the greatest challenges but also opportunities of our time,” said ABB Energy Industries president Per Erik Holsten. “We are proud to build a partnership with Blykalla and use our automation and electrification knowledge to support the role of SMRs in producing clean electricity and driving decarbonisation.” 

The partnership reflects a growing global interest in SMRs, which are seen as a more flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional large-scale nuclear plants.