(Image: Kärnfull Next)
The MoU was signed during the Korea-Sweden Strategic Industry Summit on 5 December in Seoul. It was attended by Kärnfull Next CEO Christian Sjölander, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Trade Negotiation Headquarters Director-General Jeong In-gyo, and Samsung C&T Construction Business Group CEO Oh Se-cheol.
Kärnfull Next has been conducting site selection and feasibility studies in several municipalities in Sweden since 2022. By establishing multiple SMR parks as part of the same programme - referred to as Re:Firm South - the company expects to achieve economies of scale in terms of technology selection, construction partners, power purchase agreements and financing partners.
In August 2023, Nyköping on Sweden's east coast was announced as a candidate site within the programme. In June this year, the municipality of Valdemarsvik in Östergötland county in southeastern Sweden was named as another candidate site.
Samsung C&T said it plans to immediately begin follow-up work for power plant construction, including selecting related technologies and conducting environmental impact assessments, together with Kärnfull Next. It is working with Kärnfull Next to develop a business model to build SMR power plants by 2032 and supply the electricity produced directly to data centres in Sweden. The plan, it said, is to continue building multiple power plants and attracting data centres at the same time to develop them into a complex campus.
"The Re:Firm South programme aims to establish SMR campuses, ie a minimum of two units and co-location capabilities, that provide reliable, clean electricity to the national grid and directly supply energy-intensive facilities such as AI data centres through direct or indirect power purchase agreements," Kärnfull Next said.
It added: "This partnership with Samsung C&T represents a significant milestone in the programme, focusing on e.g. special purpose vehicle project financing, design, licensing, technology selection, environmental impact assessments, and construction preparations."
"This partnership will also pave the way for future SMR campuses and the development of co-located innovative energy parks for facilities such as data centres across the Nordics," Kärnfull Next said.
"With a global leader like Samsung C&T at our side, providing expertise in areas like project financing and advanced construction, we are taking the next step toward making SMRs a reality, contributing to Sweden's goal of new nuclear power by 2035," Kärnfull Next's Sjölander said. "Their experience and scale provide invaluable resources to transform our vision into action."
Samsung C&T's Oh added: "We are proud to partner with Kärnfull Next. By combining our experience in global nuclear projects with their expertise in project development, we are confident that we can help meet Sweden’s future energy needs."
In March 2022, Kärnfull Next signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Sweden.
