TVO Nuclear Services (TVONS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finland’s Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), has signed a framework agreement under which it will act as an advisor to Estonia’s Fermi Energia for the small modular reactor (SMR) project currently underway. In 2023, Fermi Energia 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 based on the company’s ESBWR boiling water reactor. Fermi Energia aims to submit a construction permit application for the proposed plant in 2029 targeting operation by the second half of 2035. In April 2025, 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.
TVONS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), the operator of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, will bring long-standing and diverse expertise from Olkiluoto to the project. TVONS will advise on key project phases, from project initiation and licensing preparations to the evaluation of delivery models as well as support for commissioning and operational readiness. The aim of the collaboration is to ensure that Fermi Energia’s SMR project progresses in line with international requirements, good industry practices, and safety standards.
“We are pleased to support Fermi Energia in the development of their SMR project. TVONS is tasked is to bring experience and practical solutions that contribute to the safe and efficient delivery of the project, said Ari Leppänen, Managing Director of TVO Nuclear Services. “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 Fermi Energia Board Member Henri Ormus.
TVONS was founded in 1998 to share TVO’s expertise in the operation of Olkiluoto’s water reactors (units 1 and 2), the construction of the first-of-a-kind boiling EPR reactor (unit 3), as well as radioactive waste management.
In June 2025, TVONS expanded its service portfolio to include the advisory and expert services required for the preparatory and planning stages of SMR projects. It already had SMR experience.
In June 2023, TVONS signed a letter of intent with Norsk Kjernekraft to jointly investigate the deployment of SMRs in Norway. TVONS signed a collaboration agreement with Finland’s Steady Energy in April 2024 related to the development of a SMR nuclear heating plant.
