Swedish Joint Venture Funded For Demonstration Lead-Cooled SMR

The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded Swedish Modular Reactors AB – a joint venture between Uniper Sweden and LeadCold, in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) – funding of just over SEK99 million (EUR9.3 million) in support of the construction of a demonstration LeadCold SEALER (Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor) lead-cooled small modular reactor (SMR) at the Oskarshamn plant site by 2030.

The Swedish Energy Agency has now awarded the partners to put towards building an electrically powered non-nuclear prototype SEALER at Oskarshamn for testing and verifying materials and technology in an environment of molten lead at high temperatures.

The 1:56 scale prototype will be operated for five years starting in 2024.

An academic network based at KTH is connected to the project. The Sunrise (Sustainable Nuclear Research In Sweden) project – whose partners include KTH, Luleå University and Uppsala University – has already received SEK50 million (EUR5.3 million) in funding from the Foundation for Strategic Research to develop the design, material technology and safety analysis for an advanced lead-cooled research and demonstration reactor.

The SEALER design is claimed to generate 3-10 MWe over a 10-30 year period without refueling.

Read the full story on World Nuclear News.