The French company is planning a show window for mini -ore power plants from Finland and three reasons

In the midst of the climate crisis, Europe is blurred from fossil fuels. Green transition solutions are sought on three fronts: traffic, electricity production and heating. All of them should be turned into carbon neutral.

A surprisingly large part – about 40 percent – of European energy consumption goes to heating. Too many houses are still warming up with coal or natural gas. French Calogena-The company is now developing a medicine to radically cut carbon dioxide emissions from heating. The company’s drawing table has only a heat -generating mini -core power plant that would produce district heating for 20,000 households.

Founded in 2021, Calogena is part of the French Industrial Group Sorgé SA: Tawith a turnover of EUR 600 million. The company recently appointed a Finnish head of its Nordic activities Tor Stendahlinwho has previously worked as a battery manufacturer Freyr Battery Finland CEO and member of the Board of the Battery Industry Association.

The obvious goal of the designation is to gain a foothold in Finland, where at least Helsinki, Kuopio and Kerava have already launched strategic projects to utilize mini -core power plants.

Sttendahl and Calogena French CEO Julien Dereux opened their plans for Kauppalehti in a Teams interview.

“We are not an innovative company”

In the case of a heat -generating mini -core power plant, Smr (Small Modular Reactor), you should forget about the image of a traditional nuclear power plant. The heat -generating reactor is much smaller and technically simpler than large plants such as Olkiluoto and Loviisa.

The task of a small reactor developed by Calogena is to heat the water to 110 degrees. Hot water is pumped through the heat exchanger to the district heating network, where it produces warm water all year round – and during the cold season, warm water into the radiators.

“Our goal is to get the Pilot Power Plant’s permit process by the end of 2026. The first commercial power plants could operate in the mid-2030s, ”says Julien Dereux.

According to him, the technology used by the company is based on research reactors that already have about 200 in the world.

“I’m proud to say that we are not an innovative company.”

Because technology has been tested, Dereux believes that it can also be harnessed for commercial purposes.

“Our vision is that such mini -core power plants are competitive without the support of taxpayers.”

He sees enormous growth potential in the industry.

“Currently, there are ten countries in Europe that are positive about nuclear power. They have potential for at least 500 units. ”

The political atmosphere is essential for development. This is also one of the reasons why the company is just staring at Finland. Here, nuclear power is treated with a pragmatic, or openly positive.

From Finland

According to Tor Sttendahl, there are other good reasons for coming to Finland.

“Finland has a large and efficient district heating network. Almost half of the houses are warmed by district heating, ”says Sttendahl.

When the mini -core power plants are connected to the grid, they shook steady power all year round, raining or shining.

According to Stendahl, Finland’s third asset is in the way the energy market has organized.

“The energy sector has established, big players with whom projects can be professionally designed. Many of these companies have already expressed their interest in small core power. ”

According to Stendahl, Calogena’s long -term goal is not just to sell power plants.

“As a big industrial company, we can also be part of the supply chain. We also map our know -how to build and operate these institutions. ”

According to Dereux, Calogena sees the potential of 1.5 gigawatt in Finland. It would mean 50 mini -core power plants with a nominal power of 30 megawatts. At the same time, the CEO believes that Finland could serve as a showcase for new technology. A success story would open the doors to the European countries that take a nuclear power.

“In the long run, the potential of the whole of Europe is huge, 1,800 modules.”

Nuclear Waste Transportation Every other year

One of the problems of European nuclear power is the ballast of history: the industry has evolved nationally since the 1960s. Creating common rules of the game has been difficult afterwards.

Julien Dereux sees that there is a change in paradigm.

“Decisions on mini -core power plants are created locally. The institutions respond to the energy needs of the surrounding area. ”

Of course, many safety -related issues, such as how the mini -core power plant and uranium transportation of the mini -core power plant in urban areas, are being resolved.

“The practice would be the same as in research reactors that are already close to settlement centers,” Dereuux plans.

According to him, transportation should be made every other year.

“Then a new fuel is brought in. The waste used is transported out of a 40 -tonne container. ”

Of course, there would still be a resolution where the contents of the containers will eventually end up.

“Waste can be at the investment site for 20-30 years. After that, one should know where the disposal of the waste is. It has not yet been resolved, ”Dereuux admits.

In connection with the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in the Eurajoki Posiva Oy.n The cavity operated by the operating is so far the world’s only place of nuclear waste disposal. In Sweden, the construction of a similar location has begun in Forsmark, where the reception of waste is expected to start in the late 2030s.

For Finland, it seems unlikely that the cavity would receive the nuclear waste of Calogena or other outside operator. In 2016, when the Fennovoima nuclear power plant was built on Pyhäjoki, Posiva announced that the cavity was reserved for Olkiluoto’s own nuclear waste.

Julien Dereux is apparently well aware of the Finnish nuclear energy debate. What a Frenchman might think Arevan and TVO: n Cooperative Olkiluoto 3 project? There was a huge dispute around Olkiluoto, which had been delayed for years, and the French eventually had to pay the Finns almost half a billion euros.

“New projects always involve risks that should be taken seriously. But it is also worth remembering that Olkiluoto was a massive construction project. Compared to that, our units are small and quite simple to build. As far as I am confident in the future, I have confidence, ”says Dereux.

Low core power could soon be placed close to the settlement, but what about nuclear waste? We found out what to know nowFinland is now rapidly developing its own small core power – more reactor surveys are already underway