Nuclear Infrastructure Consultancy
Sweco’s multi-disciplinary, global expertise means we can seamlessly collaborate with all nuclear energy infrastructure stakeholders – from generation, storage, distribution and waste management consultancy to environmental impact advisory, buildings design and transportation engineering.
Partnering with Sweco will plug you into a global energy leader with over 50 years’ experience in nuclear infrastructure. We offer full-lifecycle design and consulting services, from preliminary studies to plant design and waste disposal, and our goal is to ensure the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power sites.
Depending on your needs, our ‘team of teams’ can provide a variety of services, such as nuclear power specialists, designers, and Owner’s Engineers (OE), as well as fulfilling various roles in construction management.
At Sweco we’re in a position to lead Europe’s energy transformation, with our global ‘team of teams’ driving innovative engineering, environmental technology and efficient processes to design thriving communities for a greener society.
Stewart Craigie Technical Director – Energy
Our nuclear engineering services
Pre-planning
- Due-diligence (pre-purchase or speculative assessments)
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIAs), screening and Environmental Statements
- Drainage strategies and Flood Risk Assessments
- Hydrology and Hydrogeology
- Geotechnical Investigations
- Transport strategies and Traffic Assessments
- Acoustics
- Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments (LVIA)
- Archaeology and Heritage Assessments
- Levels Strategies and Earthworks Volume Assessments
- Ecology & BNG
- Air Quality
- Highways and Access Strategies
- Lighting Strategies
- Solar PV Strategies
Post-planning
- Discharge of conditions of the consent granted
- Reserved matters applications
- Civil and Structural design consultancy
- Infrastructure design consultancy
- Building Services MEP design consultancy
- Highways design and RSAs
- Principle Designer CDM duties
Wider nuclear industry design services
Nuclear power plant design
Sweco is trusted in various stages of designing new nuclear power plants as well as ongoing plant modification and refurbishment projects. We also support the maintenance and operating life extension of existing facilities. We are familiar with design norms and standards related to nuclear power construction in different countries, allowing us to efficiently carry out the design process.
Waste management and decommissioning of nuclear power plants
Responsible nuclear power production involves the controlled decommissioning of plants, as well as temporary storage and final disposal of nuclear waste. We have designed decommissioning projects and waste management solutions for nuclear power plants in Finland and around the world.
Small Modular Reactors (SMR)
Small Modular Reactors are a potential solution for carbon-neutral electricity and heat production in the near future. The technology and safety requirements for small nuclear power plants are the same as for large-scale facilities, which is why Sweco is an experienced partner in the design of SMRs.
SMRs can produce both electricity and heat. Small nuclear power provides solutions for carbon-neutral district heating in municipalities and cities, meets the needs of heavy industries, and facilitates the utilisation of green hydrogen. We are involved in the preliminary design of Finland’s first SMRs in collaboration with Steady Energy.
The advantages of small nuclear power plants include lower investment and operating costs compared to large-scale facilities. Modularity reduces construction time, speeds up commissioning, and allows for efficient serial production and approval processes. Modular construction also improves quality as the plant can be manufactured to a large extent in controlled conditions at the factory.
Our wider energy transition services
Leading and supporting energy transition projects across the world
The energy transition, which requires a seismic shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, is critical to achieving our collective net zero goals. Rapid decarbonisation and the concerted harnessing of clean and renewable energy on a global scale relies on a collaborative and coordinated action.
From policy, to planning, to personal behaviour changes, we must work together to unlock the potential for governments, businesses and each of us as individuals.
Sweco is a sought-after global advisor for complex, difference-making projects that genuinely transform society. We have played a key role in facilitating energy generation, transmission, distribution and storage infrastructure for a number of groundbreaking developments and schemes, including our involvement in the establishment of innovative large-scale battery manufacturing and fossil-free steel production – as well as renewable energy projects that will power millions of homes.
We are also providing expertise as trusted technical advisers for ‘energy islands’, which will be capable of producing renewable energy for many people across Europe. We have also been active in creating sustainable transport solutions, in the form of new and upgraded railways and electrification of transport infrastructure – while also focusing on the hydrogen economy as the cornerstone of future clean energy production.
Our nuclear highlights
Boosting nuclear energy transformation as part of the UK’s Sizewell C Consortium
Sweco has joined the Sizewell C Consortium – a pivotal ‘nuclear revival’ infrastructure project that will generate 3.2GW of clean energy – and play a critical role in achieving the UK’s Net Zero goals.
The Sizewell C project will bring significant funding into its heartland site in Suffolk as well as critical infrastructure across other parts of the country, providing stable jobs and consistent business opportunities over the twelve-year programme – with associated civil works alone having an estimated value of £10bn.
From end-to-end energy generation, storage and distribution consultancy to buildings, energy and transportation engineering, Sweco’s multi-disciplinary capabilities mean we can seamlessly collaborate with consortium partners on key bids to deliver a transformational project which is set to provide green electricity to 6 million homes over the next 60 years.
Planning for a nuclear fuel repository in Sweden
Sweco has been commissioned by Swedish Nuclear Fuel Management to design the rock facility for the planned nuclear fuel repository and for the expansion of the final repository for short-lived radioactive waste in Forsmark. Sweco’s order value amounts to ten million kroner.
Swedish Nuclear Fuel Management (SKB) has applied to build a final repository for spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark and to expand the already existing final repository for short-lived waste.
We are proud to be part of this large and important project together with SKB. The final disposal issue is an extensive environmental protection project and it is of course important that the nuclear waste is taken care of in a responsible manner. The assignment is unique with high demands, where our expertise in rock engineering and plant design as well as experience in the specific conditions prevailing around projects in nuclear fuel handling come in handy, says Ann-Louise Lökholm Klasson, CEO of Sweco Sweden.
In the nuclear fuel repository, a final repository for approximately 12,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel is planned, via a ramp of a total of five kilometers, down to a depth of approximately 500 meters. There, a system of tunnels is planned where copper capsules with spent nuclear fuel are placed. The already existing final repository for short-lived radioactive waste, SFR, is also planned to be expanded.
It is an extensive task that we are now starting in Forsmark to prepare our upcoming large construction projects. Around 40–50 people will work on the detailed design during the journey, plus SKB’s own staff. We look forward to doing this together with Sweco, says SKB’s CEO Eva Halldén.
Sweco’s mission includes producing request documents for contracting regarding tunnels, shafts and rock rooms in the two projects, and several of Sweco’s competencies are involved. The planning work begins immediately and continues for a total of approximately two years.
Design for modern small-scale nuclear power plants in Finland
Steady Energy has chosen Sweco as its pre-engineering partner for small nuclear reactors. Small nuclear power plants are planned to become a new carbon-neutral production method for district heating, which accounts for about half of Finland’s heating energy.
Steady Energy’s LDR-50 small-scale nuclear reactor is based on the nuclear heating plant concept developed at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. A small nuclear reactor can produce district heat in a carbon-neutral manner for the needs of small, medium-sized and large cities. Since district heating nuclear reactors operate at significantly lower temperatures and pressures compared to conventional nuclear power plants, they can be safely located in urban environments with a completed district heating distribution network.
Steady Energy’s goal is to further develop a commercial version of the small nuclear reactor for the international market. At the moment, the company has signed letters of intent with Helen and Kuopion Energia, among others, with an option to build a total of 15 small-scale nuclear power plants. The aim is to build the first small reactor already during the current decade.
Sweco is involved in design work in several different areas of expertise, such as 3D modelling of structures and systems and drawing up piping and instrumentation diagrams. The planning phase, which started in November, will last until summer 2024.
“District heat accounts for about half of all heating produced in Finland. Abandoning fossil fuels in district heating production is an important way to reduce Finland’s carbon dioxide emissions, and small nuclear reactors could play a key role in this alongside the utilisation of renewable biofuels, electric boilers and waste heat. Promoting the green transition is at the core of our expertise, and it is great that both our experts and expertise convinced Steady Energy,” says Jyrki Jauhiainen, Business Unit Director at Sweco.
“Sweco has long experience in nuclear power projects. Over the years, we have been involved in the design of all plants operating in Finland. Many nuclear power plants are based on light water reactor technology. Small-scale power plants have simpler technical solutions than those of large power plants. It is also interesting that now the end product is heat instead of electricity,” Jauhiainen says.
“In the preliminary design phase, our goal is to produce a complete concept description of the nuclear heating plant with drawings, which will enable us to significantly refine our cost estimate. We were impressed by Sweco’s way of leading the design process, and we will be working closely together on the development of the plant,” says Hannes Haapalahti, CTO at Steady Energy.
Virtual model supporting the design, construction and operation of encapsulation and final disposal facilities for nuclear fuel
Posiva is building the world’s first nuclear fuel encapsulation plant and related underground final disposal facilities in Olkiluoto. Sweco is responsible for the project’s structural engineering and information model coordination. The design and construction processes are supported with Sweco’s VirtualSite virtual model, as will be the maintenance of the plant in the future.
Posiva is building the world’s first encapsulation and final disposal plant for spent nuclear fuel by the Eura River. The spent nuclear waste will be stored at a depth of roughly 400 metres in copper capsules, the final placement of which will begin in the 2020s. A driving tunnel and four vertical shafts are being built in the final placement facilities inside the bedrock. The tunnels are designed to last more than a century.
Sweco is responsible for the structural engineering of both the aboveground encapsulation plant and the underground final placement facilities built into the bedrock. The overall project will be designed and planned further as the implementation progresses.
“The structures and loads of the encapsulation plant are similar to those at other heavy industry sites, but there are plenty of safety-classified structures. This raises the quality level of the designs,” says Senior Structural Engineer Anssi Mäntynen from Sweco.
Every design solution and construction phase is documented carefully. One of the most challenging aspects was designing the acid-resistant steel cladding of the processing chamber of the encapsulation plant. “The structural solution proposed by Sweco is top-of-the-line in terms of technology, and their know-how is impressive,” comments Unit Manager of Structural Engineering Juha Matikainen from Posiva.
Due to the uniqueness of the site, the accuracy and details of the combination information model have been taken to a clearly higher level than usual. “The design and realisation information will also be updated as the worksite progresses,” says BIM Coordinator Antti Hämäläinen from Sweco. Every installation is planned carefully. “This enables us to avoid schedule delays and additional expenses.”
The combination information model has been refined into an even more detailed virtual model with Sweco’s VirtualSite™ tool. “The model includes tens of kilometres of tunnels, as well as all the HPAC, electricity and structure solutions,” Hämäläinen says.
Posiva wanted all parties to have access to virtual tools in order to facilitate assessing and developing the designs through trials instead of just by seeing them. “Sweco has boldly introduced new tools and possibilities that I would not have even known to ask about,” Matikainen comments.
The nuclear waste encapsulation process is animated in the virtual model step by step, which has been helpful in tasks such as adjusting the operation of cranes. The illustrative virtual model has also proven its usefulness in the design and construction of a 450-metre passenger lift shaft. “In the virtual model, installation solutions can be examined in the correct scale, which improves work safety when installing a steel shaft as tall as a skyscraper,” Hämäläinen says.
The information model will be developed throughout the entire construction process with the idea that all the information contained therein will be useful in the operation of the plant. The VirtualSite model is already being used in maintenance planning and safety inspections. “Navigating the model makes it easier to identify risk areas that require procedures such as installing falling protection,” Hämäläinen comments.
In the coming years, the digital version of the plant – also known as its digital twin – will serve as a user interface for many kinds of information. “An up-to-date information model of the building is always useful when the plant undergoes change work,” Hämäläinen says. The model enables users to see with one click what kind of technology is hidden behind a certain wall or when a certain device was installed. “The model can also be complemented with sensor data regarding the conditions of the facilities, such as air humidity and temperature.
Storage building for radioactive waste at Belgoprocess
Sweco Belgium is taking care of the project management, is responsible for the complete technical design and is supervising the realisation of the new 165X (RSC) Reception and Storage Centre and the special 167x storage building on the Belgoprocess site in Dessel, commissioned by NIRAS (the Belgian National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials.)
Both buildings are equipped with the most advanced techniques and will meet the highest requirements in terms of safety.
Belgoprocess, the industrial subsidiary of NIRAS, uses a wide range of processing methods to convert radioactive waste into a stable product. Pending this processing, the waste is sorted, stored and checked in special buildings, which will also soon include the new 165X RSC building, equipped with the most advanced techniques. The building will conform to the latest safety and security standards. For example there are strict standards for fire safety and the building will be able to withstand extreme conditions such as tornadoes or an earthquake. The risk of attacks will also be taken into account.
In 2013, gel formation was found in a part of the drums with processed low-level radioactive waste from the Doel nuclear power plant. The new 167X building is specifically designed to run controls and inspections of these drums in the most efficient way. The building is coming next to the present storage building where most of the drums with potential gel formation currently are. Both buildings are connected with an airlock, so that the drums only have to be moved over a short distance, without the need for external transport. Remote-controlled vehicles will put the drums horizontally in racks. Cameras follow the positioning and also record the inspections. The design also takes into account the decontamination and dismantling after cessation of operation. The design of these storage buildings requires an interdisciplinary team with numerous niche experts. Within the complex regulations, the design team is organising an extensive programme of requirements in a clear plan with a view to functionality and safety.
The stability studies are being done according to the latest FANC guidelines (Federal Agency for Nuclear Control) and contain detailed calculations concerning earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and explosions.
The air conditioning of the project is being done within the standards for nuclear ventilation. Because of the very large flow rates enormous air ducts are the result, which have a major impact on the concrete structure on which stringent requirements have already been placed. The interaction between the two disciplines is done in parallel with the pursuit of sustainable solutions to these challenges.
This sustainability ambition is further drawn into the automation of HVAC design. The building management system is seen as very extensive; not only the air conditioning but also the control of the handling technology, access control and also countless safety aspects are managed centrally.
Using digital twins to vastly improve collaboration in decommissioning projects
A traditional decommissioning project begins with a study of existing plans. Material calculations and other details needed in planning the dismantling of the facility are based on paperwork that does not necessarily reflect the actual reality of the facility. Maintaining the data is cumbersome as any changes are input manually and then shared again with the project stakeholders. As a result, managing the decommissioning project data can be costly.
The issues can be solved with a digital twin. A digital twin is a semi-automatically created virtual model of the facility. A laser scan is the foundation behind a 3D model that represents the reality of the facility more accurately than historic and outdated structural drawings that often date from the time of construction. For example, the model can be used to visualise data to highlight radioactive or contaminated materials.
As part of the dECOmm project, Sweco and VTT developed a tool for the cost-efficient creation of a digital twin of the FiR 1 research reactor. As VTT’s robots measured radiation levels, an algorithm automatically incorporated the measurements into the digital twin and colour-coded materials based on their radiation levels. This provided a quick visual overview of radiation levels.
The digital twin can easily be updated to reflect the progress of the decommissioning project. Material weights, quantities and other necessary data can be extracted directly from the model to help plan dismantling. Dismantling can be simulated beforehand to ensure that dismantled objects fit through doors, for example. As regulators give permission to dismantle each part of the facility, a new data management system contains a list of all dismantled objects. Each object includes a QR code that enables traceability of all objects.
The digital twin has improved the collaboration between the various stakeholders of the decommissioning project. The regulators, plant owners, deconstruction workers and other parties can view the same model and quickly understand what is happening in the project.
As a visual planning tool, the digital twin helps reduce decommissioning costs, time and risks. Work can be carefully planned. For example, the need for heavy equipment or structural reinforcements can be accurately estimated, resulting in fewer delays and more precise costing.
Sweco’s engineering expertise brings new value to the digital twin. We can quickly enrich the model with more material weights and quantities information to enable more accurate dismantling planning. This expertise has already been proved in the FiR 1 (Finland) and Salaspils (Latvia) decommissioning projects and in nuclear decommissioning projects in Sweden. With vast experience in engineering projects from different industries, Sweco can support the nuclear industry with best practices from other demanding industries
To meet net zero goals, it is crucial that we achieve society-scale energy transition as quickly as possible towards decarbonisation by optimising production, distribution, transmission, use and storage across critical power infrastructure. At Sweco we have the global resource, local knowledge, interdisciplinary skill set and agile approach to wind, solar, hydrogen and nuclear network energy transition solutions you need.