Swedish nuclear energy company Blykalla and Norway’s Norsk Kjernekraft are launching a joint project company to develop an SMR site in Norway on the Arctic island of Svalbard. The initiative is the first step in a broader rollout, with additional sites across Norway already in planning.
As Nordic countries race to electrify industries and cut emissions, the demand for clean, reliable power is growing, particularly in regions where infrastructure is limited and many remote or off-grid areas, viable solutions seemed unattainable. Longyearbyen, the administrative centre of the Svalbard archipelago was powered by coal until 2023, since when diesel systems have been used resulting in higher costs and reduced reliability.
Blykalla and Norsk Kjernekraft are planning to build a compact SMR that connects to the existing electricity and district heating grid, effectively replacing the old coal infrastructure.
“Advanced nuclear power enables decarbonisation where other technologies can’t reach,” said Blykalla CEO Jacob Stedman. “Together with Norsk Kjernekraft, we are building a platform to deliver clean, compact, and reliable power to areas and industries that haven’t yet been able to enjoy the benefits of scalable baseload power, starting with Svalbard, where the demand for clean energy is pressing.”
The first task is to conduct site-specific feasibility studies, providing a model for future deployments. The new company will then act as a launchpad for a broader rollout across Norway and the Nordic region.
“This collaboration marks a new chapter in the history of Norway as an Arctic nation,” said Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer. “Reliable and affordable energy is a prerequisite for a continued Norwegian presence at Svalbard, particularly given the current geopolitical situation. Now that the coal power plant in Longyearbyen has been closed, nuclear power is the only long-term option to maintain energy security without utilising fossil fuels.”
Blykalla (formerly LeadCold) founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, says its Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor (SEALER) technology is especially suited for regions and applications where traditional grid infrastructure falls short. The SEALER design is a fast compact reactor with passive safety. Each reactor will have a 55 MWe capacity, which can be increased by installing multiple units at the same location. The reactor is designed with the smallest possible core that can achieve criticality in a fast spectrum using 19.9% enriched nitride fuel.
Backed by partners including Uniper, ABB, OKG, and the Royal Institute of Technology, Blykalla has secured a SEK9m ($844,000) grant from the Swedish Energy Agency and a €17m ($17.77m) investment from the EU. The company plans to achieve criticality for its first SEALER reactor by 2030 and begin serial production in the 2030s.
While the company website has details of the overall design, fuel and the safety features of the reactor, it says nothing about the fast reactor technology, which is currently only operational in Russia, where the world’s first ever lead-cooled fast reactor is nearing completion. Hitherto only sodium has been used as the liquid metal coolant in fast reactors.
In February, Blykalla and Norsk Kjernekraft signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the possible deployment the SEALER reactor design in Scandinavia. They agreed to assess the business case for integrating the SEALER into power plant projects currently under development by Norsk Kjernekraft, evaluating site suitability, regulatory pathways, and economic feasibility for deployment in Norway. In May, Blykalla and Norway’s Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) agreed a strategic collaboration to accelerate the technical development of SEALER.
In 2022, Blykalla (then called LeadCold) launched a feasibility study to investigate the conditions for building and operating a nuclear research reactor at Sweden’s Studsvik with associated fuel fabrication infrastructure. Blykalla has a letter of intent in place with Studsvik to develop SEALER-One on its site in Nyköping with licensing work under way.
