Norsk Kjernekraft And X-energy Sign Agreement To Explore SMR Deployment

The company said the new partnership aims to leverage US technology and South Korean plant construction expertise to establish nuclear power projects in selected Norwegian municipalities.

According to Norsk Kjernekraft , the initiative also includes funding from the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation for a feasibility study focused on the Mongstad industrial area near Bergen, a region with significant industrial and energy infrastructure.

The collaboration will assess the feasibility of deploying X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced SMR design, which is part of the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Programme and features high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed reactors.

The Xe-100 is an 80 MW high-temperature reactor that can be scaled into a “four-pack” 320 MW power plant, fuelled by the company's proprietary Triso-X tri-structural isotropic particle fuel.

Norway has never had commercial nuclear power plants, but has operated two research reactors for the production of medical radioisotopes and research purposes. Norsk Kjernekraft was established in July 2022 with the goal of bringing SMR to Norway.

In March 2023, Norsk Kjernekraft signed an agreement with UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR to work together to increase acceptance of nuclear power in Norway and to potentially establish future projects that “could lead to the deployment of Rolls-Royce’s SMR power plants in Norway”.