Tractebel To Support Steady Energy Developing LDR-50 SMR

Tractebel (ENS Corporate Member) signed a contract with Finnish technology developer Steady Energy to provide engineering services to develop Steady Energy’s LDR-50 SMR, aimed at providing clean district heating and industrial steam.

Steady Energy has already struck agreements for 15 reactors in Finland and is expanding to Sweden and the Baltics. The construction of the first plant could begin as early as 2029, with district heating operations anticipated to start in the early 2030s.

Tractebel’s experts will review the probabilistic safety assessment and provide engineering support for the reactor design. They will also assess scenarios to establish a severe accident management programme, which is required by national and international legislation despite that the technology itself is inherently simple and safe.

The Finnish company said its reactor design is currently being assessed by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), and that the contract with Tractebel is expected to speed up the permitting process.

Read more on Tractebel Press Release.

The LDR-50 has been under development at Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre since 2020. Steady Energy was spun out from VTT in 2023.

Steady Energy’s LDR-50 is a 50 MW small modular reactor, specifically designed to produce heat up to 150 °C.

The LDR-50 is a simplified pressurized light water reactor that operates at significantly lower pressures than conventional nuclear reactors, and which is optimized for district heating, industrial steam production, and desalination projects.