Billions in nuclear power investment? Helen is now figuring out all the options for the SMR power plant

The skyline of the entire city of Helsinki spreads wide before the eyes at the end of Itämerenkatu on the border of Ruoholahti and Lauttasaari on the 14th floor of the new office building.

Helen’s nuclear power company of Helen Ydinvoima Oy newly elected CEO Pekka Tolonen hums with satisfaction. The construction of a new small nuclear power plant (SMR) is such a big challenge for the energy company owned by the City of Helsinki, at least it does not depend on whether the framework set for the task is not in order.

Helen’s goal is to build an SMR power plant with a district heating output of 400–500 megawatts in the next 10–15 years. The number of plant units is determined by which plant supplier is chosen. The output of a single reactor unit can range from 30 megawatts to more than 400 megawatts.

Tolonen’s challenges are huge. Where would the nuclear power plant be located, with which plant supplier would the construction be done, what would it cost, whether Helen should pay the entire investment herself or if partners should be involved in the project and how waste safety related to the nuclear power plant would be taken care of.

“The most important things this year are to choose a facility supplier, with whom we will continue, and to move forward with the process of selecting a facility location. Both of these are long processes in which things must be prepared far enough so that decisions can be made,” says Tolonen.

“Essentially related to both issues is Helen Ydinvoima Oy’s business model, financing and also growing the company’s organization to full strength in a timely manner.”

This year, the company will also start discussions with the residents of the nearby areas of the plant location options about the location of the nuclear plant. There are three alternatives: Salmisaari, Vuosaari and Norrberget in Östersundom.

Tolonen emphasizes the importance of discussion and dialogue. Although the Helsinki City Council and the City Government have solid support for the investigation of the nuclear project, the residents must also be listened to carefully, as they are most affected by the risks of the plant site.

Size class 1–5 billion

Although we are now talking about a smaller-scale nuclear power plant, it is by far the largest single investment in Helen’s scale that the company has ever seriously prepared.

Tolonen does not want to say anything more specific about the size class at this stage. CEO of Helen Olli Sirkka stated to HS in the fall that “in the amount of billions, the fingers of one hand are enough”, i.e. it is an investment of 1–5 billion euros.

An example can be found in Canada, where Ontario Power Generation (OPG) started last year GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energyn of the construction of a 300 megawatt SMR power plant. The preliminary cost estimate for the first unit is 3.8 billion euros and for the entire project, i.e. four units, 12.9 billion euros.

So the idea is that due to the modularity of SMR power plants, the first power plant unit is the most expensive, but after that the following units can be made more cheaply.

Steady Energy has no preference

What Helen Ydinvoima’s alternative will be is still a mystery.

“We are having discussions with half a dozen plant suppliers about all the details of the project. This means that options that provide nuclear heat as well as more traditional options that provide electricity and heat are on the table. We don’t want to reveal the names of the plant suppliers yet,” says Tolonen.

A pilot version of a nuclear thermal plant is currently being built at Helen’s premises in Salmisaari Steady Energy is therefore not a sure option for Helen, even though the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Steady Energy in November 2023, the aim of which is to enable investment in a small heat-producing nuclear power plant.

Now Helen is clearly looking for a broader perspective on the matter.

An educated guess is that along with Steady Energy, for example, a French company may be involved Calogenthe aforementioned GE Vernova and the pride of the British Rolls-Royce SMR. In the last mentioned SMR power plants, the size category is already 470 megawatts.

“In SMR power plants, small and modular balance each other beautifully,” laughs Tolonen.

Collaborators are being sought

The high cost of nuclear power construction is one of the reasons why the Helsinki energy company Helen decided to establish its own company for the matter. “This gives many possibilities for organizing the financing and business model of the project,” says Pekka Tolonen.

All options are on the table. Also the fact that Helen Ydinvoima Oy would have other owners. Helen is possibly looking for industry players alongside her From Fortum Pohjola Power.

Alternatives are also various institutional capital investors, but also other actors. In the United States, for example Microsoft is involved in the nuclear power plant project to ensure electricity supply to the cloud services of the data centers. Why couldn’t it be included in Finland too?

Tolonen does not comment on the matter at this stage.

Small-scale power gets a kick forward from the new lawA new energy company starts preparing a nuclear power plant in Helsinki