Blykalla says facility will be used to validate systems for Sealer plant
Sweden-based small modular reactor (SMR) developer Blykalla broke ground on Monday (3 February) on its advanced reactor testing facility, an important step towards the industrialisation and commercialisation of its lead-cooled reactor technology.
The company said the facility, at the Oskarshamn nuclear site to the south of Stockholm, marks a pivotal step in industrialising decades of research towards the goal of delivering clean, safe and scalable baseload energy.
According to Blykalla, the facility will be the first new building on a Swedish nuclear power site in over 40 years. Today’s groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Swedish deputy prime minister and energy Minister Ebba Busch, who has often voiced her support for nuclear.
The first phase of construction is expected to be completed by June 2025 with tests starting during the third quarter of 2025.
The facility will house the electrical Sealer-E prototype reactor and aims to validate critical components and safety systems for a future reactor. The pilot plant will not use nuclear fuel.
The project is a collaborative effort including Germany-based energy company Uniper, Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation ABB, Swedish construction company NCC and the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden’s largest technical university. It is funded by both private capital and public funding from the government’s Swedish Energy Agency.
Blykalla’s planned Sealer SMR plant will use liquid lead cooling and has what the company said are unique safety elements and proprietary innovations.
The company said the plant is “a perfect complement” to intermittent energy sources and can provide the baseload energy needed for a full transition to a fossil free future.
Lead-cooled nuclear plants are not yet operating, but are being developed as next-generation, or Generation IV, reactors.
Lead has a very high boiling temperature of 1,749°C which means the problem of coolant boiling is for all practical purposes eliminated.
This brings with it important safety advantages that also result in design simplification and improved economic performance.
Blykalla’s planned Sealer SMR plant can provide the baseload energy needed for a full transition to a fossil free future. Courtesy Blykalla.
