Steady Energy closes EUR32 million round for Helsinki pilot plant
Non-nuclear pilot at a decommissioned Helsinki coal plant starts construction later this year, led by Sweco; reactor priced at around EUR100 million.
Key facts
- Preliminary agreements cover up to 15 reactors in Finland
- STUK preliminary assessment in June: LDR-50 can be designed to meet Finnish standards
- Ready-to-build targeted for 2028, commercial heating plants in the early 2030s
- Shipping-container-sized LDR-50 rated at 50 MW, designed to run 60 years
- Investors include LocalTapiola, Tesi, Move Energy, Valo Ventures and 92 Capital
Steady Energy closed a €32 million funding round and will build a full-scale, non-nuclear pilot plant at a recently decommissioned coal plant in central Helsinki, the Finnish company said. Construction starts later this year. Sweco leads the project.
The pilot will demonstrate the safety features of Steady Energy’s LDR-50 reactor before commercial deployment and let the company test supply chains, it said. Steady Energy said it aims to reach a ready-to-build phase by 2028. In June, STUK, the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, gave a preliminary safety assessment finding that the LDR-50 can be designed to meet Finnish nuclear safety standards.
Steady Energy said it has preliminary agreements for up to 15 reactors in Finland. The funds will also go to hiring, design work and sales in Sweden and Poland. Investors include LocalTapiola, state-owned Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment), Move Energy, Valo Ventures and 92 Capital.
The LDR-50 is a 50 MW, shipping-container-sized reactor designed to run for 60 years with practically no maintenance shutdowns, the company said. Steady Energy puts the cost at around €100 million per reactor.
