Companies say collaboration could reshape landscape of clean, reliable baseload power
Swedish advanced nuclear technology company Blykalla and Switzerland-headquartered Hitachi Energy announced a collaboration that could reshape the landscape of clean, reliable baseload power by deploying advance modular reactors (AMRs) in Europe and the US.
Blykalla said the companies have signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MoU) establishing a long-term strategic collaboration focused on deploying Blykalla’s next-generation lead-cooled AMRs.
The two companies will jointly design how Blykalla’s reactors connect to the grid and to the sites they power, from transmission-level connection to onsite electrical systems and digital monitoring. The aim is a standardised design that scales serial deployment.
The collaboration spans areas including conceptual designs for grid connection and network integration, onsite electrical architecture, digital tools for construction and operation, and a combined offering for customers with the highest, most constant power demands, beginning with data centres and energy-intensive industry.
AMRs are small modular reactors (SMRs) that use advanced cooling technology. AMRs, and lead-cooling in particular, offer significant advantages over conventional reactors, including rapid deployment and flexible siting. Their compact size enables co-location with industrial facilities, delivering power precisely where and when it is needed.
Earlier this month Blykalla submitted an application for Swedish government financing for a planned advanced nuclear reactor park in Norrsundet, two hours north of Stockholm.
The proposed advanced nuclear facility would be powered by six of Blykalla’s Sealer AMRs.
Sweden has six large-scale reactor units in commercial operation at three sites: Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals. According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, nuclear energy provided 29% of the country’s electricity generation in 2024.
Background: Sweden’s Positive Nuclear Outlook
Sweden’s government made new nuclear power one of its key pledges during campaigning for a general election in 2022. The move reverses a decades-long policy to shut down the country’s ageing reactors and replacing them with renewable energy. Sweden previously operated 12 commercial reactors, but permanently shut down six due to economic factors and shifting political goals.
The government wants to attract more players to build new nuclear in the country by streamlining its licensing process and opening up its coastline to build capacity in the sector.
Four companies, including Blykalla, have applied for financial support to build new nuclear reactors. The other three are Nordic Baseload Power, Videberg Kraft and Studsvik.
Last week Sweden’s government said it had agreed on the details of a first financing package with Videberg Kraft to build three Rolls-Royce SMR units at near the existing Ringhals nuclear site on Sweden’s west coast, with the first scheduled to begin commercial operation in the mid-2030s.
The government said in a statement it will take a 60% stake in Videberg Kraft, currently 80% owned by Vattenfall and 20% by the Industrikraft consortium of industrial companies. Vattenfall’s stake will drop to 20%.
