Norway Considers SMR Construction Based on Korean Design

Norway’s Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft AS and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power are to conduct a feasibility study on the construction of a power plant based on multiple Korean-designed i-SMR reactors in the municipalities of Aure and Heim.

The study – which has been selected by the South Korean export credit bank Korea Eximbank for support – will assess the technical, environmental and regulatory aspects of project implementation.  The work is expected to start in the second half of 2025.

The i-SMR is an integrated water-cooled nuclear reactor with an electrical output of 170 MW whose development envisions approval of a standard design by 2028. According to KHNP, such rectors require one-third of the investment, and can be constructed in half the time compared with traditional large NPPs.

Trondheimsleia Kjernekraft was founded in April 2025 as a partnership between the municipalities of Aure and Heim, energy company NEAS and nuclear project developer Norsk Kjernekraft to develop a power plant based on SMR.

Overall, Norsk Kjernekraft is considering four potential sites for SMR power plants in Norway: Aure–Heim, Vardø, Eyjorden, and Halden. The company submitted an official proposal to Norway’s Ministry of Energy in November 2023 for an assessment into the construction of this plant in the Taftøy industrial park – in the border area between Aure and Heim. The total generating capacity of this plant may reach up to 1500 MWe.