Enersense to partner in operation and maintenance of Finland’s first small nuclear heating plant pilot

Steady Energy is building Finland’s first small nuclear heating plant pilot in the premises of the former coal-fired power plant in Salmisaari, Helsinki. The pilot plant’s test reactor will have the same structure as the actual commercial reactor, but instead of nuclear fuel, heat will be generated using an electrically heated core. The actual small nuclear heating reactor will have a thermal output of 50 megawatts. At the Salmisaari pilot plant, its operation will be simulated at an output of approximately six megawatts.

The pilot plant will be used to simulate the operation of the reactor before the construction of commercial plants. The heat generated during testing will be utilised in Helen’s district heating network.

Enersense will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the test unit.

“This is a strategically interesting new area for us. Enersense has extensive experience in the operation and maintenance of various types of power plants as well as in new clean transition solutions. For example, we operate Helen’s power plants and district heating network in Helsinki, as well as Finland’s first green hydrogen production plant in Harjavalta. We now have the opportunity to bring our expertise to yet another new technology, and I am very excited about it,” says Mikael Vainionpää, Executive Vice President, Energy Transition at Enersense.

Enersense’s operation and maintenance experience supports the commissioning and testing of Steady Energy’s pilot plant

The pilot is a significant step towards utilising nuclear heat in district heating production in Finland.

Enersense is already familiar with the operating environment in Salmisaari, as the company is responsible for operating Helen’s power plant there. The pilot plant will be built in the vacant turbine hall of the Salmisaari coal-fired power plant.

“In Salmisaari, we can utilise both our personnel already working on site and our experience in demanding energy and industrial environments,” Vainionpää says.

Enersense has already cooperated with Steady Energy during the construction phase of the plant by providing expert services related to, among other things, pressure equipment, an area in which the company has extensive experience.

The cooperation is expected to continue until 2028 or until the required tests have been completed.