Norwegian firms select partners for uranium, decommissioning

Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Norsk Kjernekraft is a private company that aims to build, own and operate small modular reactor (SMR) power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry. It has initiated joint projects in several places, along with power companies and municipalities.

Aurum is in the process of mapping and assessing uranium occurrences in several places in Northern Norway. Initial geological investigations indicate the occurrences may be of interest and are located a short distance from ports or main roads.

The aim of the agreement between Aurum and Norsk Kjernekraft is to examine the possibility that future nuclear power plants in Norway and other Western countries may someday be powered by Norwegian uranium. As part of the agreement, Norsk Kjernekraft will assist Aurum with its knowledge of regulatory, commercial and political issues related to nuclear power.

"Energy security and self-sufficiency are becoming increasingly important, both for Norway and for Europe," said Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer. "Uranium processing facilities are located in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France, where uranium product can be converted into fuel that could power Norwegian and European nuclear power plants for many decades."

Aurum Green Energy CEO Barry Stoffell added: "Norsk Kjernekraft has shown that it is possible for communities, politicians and industry to support building nuclear power plants in Norway. We are pleased to work with them to do the same when it comes to the search for domestic sources of uranium."

In June 2024, the Norwegian government appointed a committee to conduct a broad review and assessment of various aspects of a possible future establishment of nuclear power in the country. It must deliver its report by 1 April 2026.

Norsk Kjernekraft noted that the Geological Survey of Norway carried out geological mapping of uranium deposits in the country during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and conducted an extensive nationwide exploration and assessment campaign in the early 1980s. The renewed effort to explore for uranium in Norway is taking place at the same time as the Swedish government is working toward encouraging uranium exploration and potential extraction.

"We can currently buy uranium from allied countries such as Australia, Canada, the USA and Ukraine, as well as several other countries," Hesthammer said. "In the future, if exploration is successful, we may also be able to buy it from Norway and Sweden."

Support in decommissioning
 

US-based engineering company Amentum and its joint venture partner Multiconsult Norge AS have been selected by Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND) to deliver safety case management and training for Norway's nuclear clean-up programme.

This contract is focused on delivering a new methodology for robust and well-documented safety cases for new design and existing legacy nuclear facilities, including reactors in shut down conditions, post-operational clean-out and decommissioning, as well as facilities for storage and management of used fuel and radioactive waste. It covers work at KLDRA - a combined storage and disposal facility for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste in Himdalen in Aurskog/Høland - and two research sites - the nuclear fuel and materials testing reactor at Halden and the JEEP-II neutron scattering facility at Kjeller.

Established as an agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries in February 2018, NND is responsible for decommissioning the research reactors and other related nuclear infrastructure, as well as the safe handling, storage and disposal of radioactive waste.

Amentum and Multiconsult have been working for NND since summer 2022 under an engineering and technical framework, helping to develop a decommissioning strategy, including approaches for used fuel and radioactive waste management.

"This contract award is a strong vote of confidence from a client and comes at a pivotal time when Norway is considering the deployment of small modular reactors to meet its future energy needs," said Andy White, senior vice president of Amentum Energy and Environment International. "We will bring our extensive global experience in nuclear safety analysis - spanning the entire lifecycle - to this project, with particular emphasis on assessing legacy facilities and supporting their decommissioning in line with advanced safety standards."

Article researched and written by WNN's Warwick Pipe