Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Environment & Energy

Showing Original Post only (View all)

NNadir

(36,136 posts)
Mon May 5, 2025, 07:17 PM May 5

Norway and Sweden to Cooperate on Development of Lead Cooled Small Nuclear Reactors. [View all]

The article I'll discuss in this post is this one: Partnership to accelerate development of Blykalla SMR

Excerpts:

Swedish lead-cooled small modular reactor technology developer Blykalla and Norway's Institute of Energy Technology have entered into a strategic collaboration to accelerate the technical development of Blykalla's SEALER reactor.

Blykalla - formerly called LeadCold - is a spin-off from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where lead-cooled reactor systems have been under development since 1996. The company - founded in 2013 as a joint stock company - is developing the SEALER (Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor) lead-cooled SMR.

The company said the new collaboration with the Institute of Energy Technology (IFE) focuses on a number of critical areas that are essential for scaling SEALER from prototype to full commercial readiness. These include the development of control room and operator environments, as well as the design of instrumentation and control systems to enable remote and autonomous operation. IFE will also contribute to the engineering of core mechanical components, such as shutdown assemblies and fuel handling systems, and support the design of radiation shielding to meet rigorous regulatory requirements.

Prototype development and component testing will be a central part of the work, helping to mature instrumentation of core, primary system and auxiliary systems, and reduce the technical risks associated with licensing and deployment. Together, Blykalla and IFE aim to speed up the transition from low technology readiness levels to the industrial standards needed for commercial rollout...

... Blykalla's plans to construct its first reactor, SEALER-One, in Sweden. It will function as a demonstration of its technology, and at the same time be used for pyrolysis, whereby industrial customers can utilise its steam for, among other things, decarbonised biochar production. The company aims to achieve criticality of SEALER-One by 2029. Blykalla has a letter of intent in place with nuclear operator Studsvik to develop SEALER-One on its site in Nyköping, Sweden. Licensing work is currently under way.

In the long-term, Blykalla plans to deploy up to 1000 SMRs by 2050, delivering 500 TWh of clean energy annually to industrial users that cannot rely on intermittent power sources. It says SEALER is designed to serve sectors such as hydrogen production, process heat, and pyrolysis, with the potential of significantly reducing global carbon dioxide emissions and securing industrial resilience and growth...
4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»Norway and Sweden to Coop...»Reply #0