Pre-feasibility study launched for Estonian SMR plant

The study will analyse the technical, financial, legal, and market aspects of deploying advanced small modular reactor (SMR) technology in Estonia, supporting Fermi Energia's ongoing national designated spatial planning process.

One key component is a market study. This will comprise a comprehensive analysis of existing and planned dispatchable generation assets above 50 MW in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, including capacity, technology, lifecycle, financial indicators, and ownership strategies. The study will also assess policy trends, carbon pricing impacts, and future capacity outlook, with Polish and Finnish data analysed at an aggregate level. The analysis will be conducted in cooperation with professional services firm Deloitte Latvia SIA.

The pre-feasibility study will also include an assessment supporting Estonia's National Designated Spatial Planning site selection process. This will include construction transport and logistics mapping, workforce needs, accommodation and service solutions, construction organisation and area-of-influence analysis, and a preliminary foundation and layout study for the reactor building and supporting infrastructure. The work will be conducted in cooperation with Estonian engineering company Norte OÜ.

Samsung C&T will deliver the final report in April 2026.

"This cooperation with Samsung C&T marks another important milestone in Estonia's journey toward introducing safe, modern, and reliable nuclear power," said Fermi Energia CEO Kalev Kallemets. "The study will provide practical inputs for planning, supply chain preparation, and investment readiness."

In April this year, Fermi Energia and Samsung C&T signed a teaming agreement to collaborate on the deployment of two BWRX-300 SMRs in Estonia. Under the teaming agreement, the cooperation between Fermi Energia and Samsung C&T will focus on key aspects of the project, including the formation of an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) partnership, site constructability review, cost estimation, and financing strategies. The agreement also positions Samsung C&T as a potential EPC Prime Contractor and key commercial partner in the Estonian SMR project. This collaboration built upon a memorandum of understanding signed between the two companies in November 2024.

Fermi Energia was founded by Estonian energy and nuclear energy professionals to develop deployment of SMRs in Estonia. In July 2019, the company launched a feasibility study on the suitability of SMRs for Estonia's electricity supply and climate goals beyond 2030, following a financing round from investors and shareholders.

In February 2023, the company selected GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 SMR for potential deployment by the early 2030s. The BWRX-300 design is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of the company's ESBWR boiling water reactor.

Fermi Energia submitted an application to Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in January this year to begin the state spatial planning process for a 600 MW nuclear power plant. During the initial site pre-selection phase (to be conducted between 2025 and 2027) a comprehensive evaluation of potential locations will be carried out, with a focus on areas near Kunda in Viru-Nigula County and Aa village in Lüganuse County. During the site confirmation phase (2027-2029), detailed site-specific studies will be conducted, with an assessment of technical compatibility and an analysis of location-based parameters. The government announced the start of the spatial planning process and Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment in May.

Fermi Energia expects to submit a construction permit application for the proposed plant in 2029, with construction targeted to begin in 2031. The first of two SMRs is set to be operational by the second half of 2035.