Westinghouse And Fortum Evaluate New Nuclear Projects

Westinghouse Electric Company (ENS Corporate Member) and Fortum announced the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to study the possibilities for the development and deployment of AP1000 and AP300 reactor projects in Finland and Sweden.

The MOUs establish a framework of collaboration for detailed technical and commercial discussions and explore cooperation on the next steps to implement Westinghouse reactor technologies in both countries.

The AP1000 is a Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design, and a very small footprint per MWe. In the United States at the Vogtle site, one AP1000 unit recently began producing power for the grid while a second unit prepares for initial fuel load.

Four AP1000 reactors are currently setting operational performance and availability records in China with six additional reactors under construction. Westinghouse AP1000 technology also has been selected in Poland, and for nine units in Ukraine.

It is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Central and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The AP300 small modular reactor (SMR) is a 300-MWe single-loop pressurized water reactor that has been unveiled by Westinghouse last month.

The company expects the new design will get federal approval in 2027 and the first unit may start delivering power to the grid in about 2033.

Read more on Westinghouse Press Release.

In October 2022, Fortum launched a two-year feasibility study to examine commercial, technological and societal, including political, legal and regulatory, conditions both for small modular reactors (SMRs) and conventional large reactors in Finland and Sweden, countries where Fortum has also a share in nuclear plants at Olkiluoto, Oskarshamn and Forsmark.

Furthermore, the active cooperation between Westinghouse and Fortum led also to the signature of a long-term partnership to develop, license and deliver VVER-440 fuel to the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant in Finland to guarantee a dependable Western alternative to Russian-supplied fuel.