Sweden's Vattenfall to choose GE Vernova or Rolls-Royce to build SMR nuclear reactors

[Model of atom and elementary particles. Physics concept. 3D rendered illustration.]
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Swedish utility Vattenfall said Thursday it narrowed its choice of suppliers [https://group.vattenfall.com/press-and-media/pressreleases/2025/vattenfall-moves-forward-with-nuclear-power-suppliers-ge-vernova-and-rolls-royce-smr-and-invites-to-a-qa-session] for a series of small modular nuclear reactors to GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GEV]) and Rolls-Royce (OTCPK:RYCEY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RYCEY]) (OTCPK:RYCEF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RYCEF]).

Vattenfall said it is planning a project with either five BWRX-300 reactors from GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GEV]) or three Rolls-Royce (OTCPK:RYCEY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RYCEY]) (OTCPK:RYCEF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RYCEF]) SMR reactors to be built at the utility's existing Ringhals plant in southwest Sweden to provide a total output of ~1,500 MW; it is also considering building an additional 1,000 MW to replace two decommissioned reactors at Ringhals.

Sweden's parliament passed legislation earlier this year to finance a new generation of reactors, the first built in Sweden for more than 40 years and which the government says is necessary for energy security and achieving net zero emissions by 2045.

Six reactors remain in operation in Sweden, providing about a third of the country's power - hydro generation is the biggest power source, with almost half - but a growing share of renewables that depend on weather conditions has led to price volatility, imbalances and a lack of available grid capacity - the government believes the solution is to go nuclear [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-21/vattenfall-to-pick-ge-vernova-or-rolls-royce-for-new-reactors].

Critics say nuclear power will be too expensive [https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/swedens-vattenfall-shortlists-rolls-royce-ge-vernova-build-smr-nuclear-reactors-2025-08-21/] and too slow to build, and a report published a year ago said the state may need to lend nuclear developers 300B-600B crowns ($31B-$63B) with fixed prices for 40 years.

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