On January 24th 2024 Blykalla hosted its first annual nuclear industry event.
We gathered some of the top minds of the Swedish nuclear power industry to discuss how we can build on the current nuclear renaissance to be in the forefront of clean energy globally.
The event was headlined by Sweden’s minister for Climate and Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari. We also enjoyed a presentation from Bengt Ivung, who was a big part of building up the current Swedish nuclear power fleet, as well as from Jacob Stedman, CEO of Blykalla, and Janne Wallenius, CTO of Blykalla.
Besides these speakers, we had a panel discussion with panelists Desirée Comstedt, Vice President SF Fleet Development at Vattenfall, Petra Lundström, EVP Nuclear Generation at Fortum, and Johan Svenningsson, CEO of Uniper Sweden. The panel was moderated by Carl Berglöf, senior nuclear expert at Energiföretagarna Sweden and the Government's incoming national nuclear coordinator.
The event took place in the historic venue R1 - 25 meters under ground in Sweden’s first reactor hall.
Key takeaways from the event include:
▪ The Swedish nuclear industry has the government's full support, and all measures of enablement - including financial backing, risk sharing, and obstacle removal - are currently being adressed and adjusted for.
▪ With the right political and industrial prerequisites we can achieve incredible results. For reference, between 1975 and 1985 - merely 10 years! - the state-owned ASEA-Atom commissioned 11 reactors within Sweden and abroad. We have done it before, and we can do it again.
▪ Key industry players such as Vattenfall, Fortum, and Uniper are united in their belief that SMRs, and GenIV technology in particular, are important complements to full-scale nuclear power plants - especially with regard to the green revolution of the Swedish industry.
We see incredible momentum in Sweden for nuclear power in general, and SMRs in particular. Such a gathering of industry experts, business leaders, politicians, and officials marks a very special moment in time. We are truly in a nuclear renaissance - and we are excited to be part of it. We look forward to bringing our technology to market, knowing that we are well supported in our mission.
