TVONS expands consultancy services to include SMRs

Friday, 13 June 2025

TVO Nuclear Services (TVONS) is a consulting company wholly owned by Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), owner of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. It was founded in 1998 to share TVO's expertise in the operation of Olkiluoto's two boiling water reactors (units 1 and 2), the construction of the first-of-a-kind EPR reactor (unit 3), as well as radioactive waste management.

TVONS says it is now offering consultancy services related to the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs).

"The potential of SMR plants can only be realised provided project planning and implementation, as well as the operation and maintenance of the plants represent the very highest standards," it said. "In other words, the SMR plants must hold the same trump cards as plants of the conventional size class."

"In both cases, it is our task to ensure that the plants operate reliably and efficiently through their whole life cycle," said TVONS Managing Director Ari Leppänen. "The scale of the plants may be smaller, but the responsibility is at least as great as with the larger plants. This is even more so as many of the future SMR plants are planned to be located much closer to built-up areas than the existing conventional plants."

Leppänen said services to support the commissioning and operational reliability of SMR plants will be available in Olkiluoto.

TVONS said it will offer SMR project developers services based on its extensive experience with safety standards and regulatory requirements; practice-oriented expertise in overall project management; supporting services from design through the commissioning and operational stages; knowledge required to build up the future operating organisation during the project stage; a client-driven approach, working as part of the client's core team throughout the project; and operating models refined over the decades to support risk management and successful implementation of projects.

TVONS has already provided consultancy services related to SMRs. In June 2023, it signed a letter of intent with Norsk Kjernekraft to jointly investigate the deployment of small modular reactors in Norway. In April 2024, TVONS signed a collaboration agreement with Steady Energy - Finnish developer of the LDR-50 small modular reactor - related to the development of a nuclear heating plant, initially focusing on the planning of the nuclear facility's operation and safety.