Halden Kjernekraft has submitted a proposal to Norway’s Ministry of Energy for a study programme to investigate building a NPP, comprising several small modular reactors (SMRs), and an associated waste storage facility in the city of Østfold in Halden. This is first step in the Norwegian regulatory process to assess NPP construction.
Halden Kjernekraft was established in 2023 to investigate the possibility of producing electricity and heat in Halden from a NPP. Halden municipality has a 20% stake in Halden Kjernekraft, while Norsk Kjernekraft and Østfold Energi own 40% each. Norsk Kjernekraft has established cooperation with several other municipalities but believes Halden will be an asset.
“A lack of power currently prevents the establishment of industry and climate measures in Østfold, Oslo and Akershus, said Håvard Kristiansen, general manager of Halden Kjernekraft. “A nuclear power plant in Halden can help solve this problem in the long run.”
Halden Kjernekraft also submitted a white paper to the Norwegian Radiation & Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA – Direktoratet for strålevern og atomsikkerhet) with a proposal for a study programme to consider an interim storage facility and a repository for radioactive waste. This would be located next to the NPP.
The interim storage facility would store the waste until it can be placed in a permanent underground repository. Halden Kjernekraft is also considering using drilling technology from the oil and gas industry to deposit some types of radioactive waste in boreholes that several kilometres underground.
“In order to obtain a licence under the Atomic Energy Act, we must prepare a thorough plan for the safe management of radioactive waste,” explained Kristiansen. “The proposed plant will use proven technology, developed and approved in several other countries, and will be able to handle waste both from our own plant and from other players.”
Norsk Kjernekraft was established in 2022 by the M West Group, headquartered in Bergen, after several years of analysis, with the goal of building and operating small, modular NPPs to provide solid base load power. Norsk Kjernekraft aims to build, own and operate SMR power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry. It will prepare licence applications in accordance with national regulations and international standards and will follow the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Milestones Approach.
The proposed NPP in Halden will comprise up to four SMRs with a total installed capacity of 1,200 MWe and an annual production of 10 TWh. This is enough to supply around 640,000 households and is more than twice the output of Norway’s largest hydropower plant. The project is expected to create between 200 and 500 jobs once the plant is operating.
Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer said: “We see that the need for power is increasing, while the power system has become more weather-dependent and more dependent on foreign cables, which are vulnerable to sabotage. A nuclear power plant in Halden will improve energy security in the capital area.”
To date Norsk Kjernekraft has notified the Ministry of Energy of four planned projects. These include proposals for SMR power plants in the municipalities of Aure (Møre og Romsdal county), Heim (Trøndelag county), Vardø (Finnmark county) and Øygarden (Vestland county).
