en.Wedoany.com Reported - Finnish small nuclear power developer Steady Energy has secured a €10.5 million (US$12.1 million) loan from Business Finland to fund its test facility in Salmisaari, Helsinki. This state-backed financing covers more than half of the estimated budget (€15-20 million) required to build the full-scale test facility.
The test plant is being constructed in the former turbine hall of the decommissioned Salmisaari B coal-fired power plant in central Helsinki. Construction has commenced following a lease agreement with energy company Helen Ltd, with operations scheduled to begin in spring 2027. The test reactor, standing 10 meters tall, mirrors the physical layout of planned commercial units. For safety and verification testing purposes, the reactor's uranium core will be replaced by electric heating elements. The heat generated during testing will not go to waste and will be directly fed into Helen Ltd's Helsinki district heating network.
The facility will conduct mathematical and physical verification of safety systems under real-world conditions, aiming to avoid the lengthy approval delays and cost overruns historically common in traditional nuclear projects. This test serves as the final rehearsal before deploying the LDR-50, a container-sized reactor with a thermal output of 50 megawatts, designed by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The commercial model is designed to be buried underground in urban areas, safely and cleanly connecting to existing municipal heating networks.
Steady Energy plans to break ground on its first commercial nuclear power plant within three years. The company has signed preliminary agreements for 15 commercial reactors in several Finnish cities and has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Korea District Heating Corporation (KDHC). "Our plant is very small and probably the simplest in the world," said Hannes Haapalahti, Chief Technology Officer of Steady Energy. "This means we can build a full-scale unit specifically for safety testing. In terms of design, our goal is to be ready to start building the first plant within three years." Jussi Åkerberg, Program Director at Business Finland, noted: "Steady Energy's project is exactly the kind of bold and ambitious innovation Finland needs to build next-generation energy expertise, industrial competitiveness, and exports."
In Finland, cities including Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kerava, and Kuopio are exploring the use of small nuclear power for district heating. In Kuopio, environmental impact assessments and regional planning are underway.
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