Constellation Seeks Early Site Permit at Oswego, NY

• Constellation Seeks Early Site Permit at Oswego, NY
• Nebraska in Pursuit of Four Sites for Advanced Reactors
• Antares Signs Long-Term HALEU Supply Agreement with Urenco
• X-Energy Plan for HTGRs at DOW Texas Plant Clears NRC Enviromental Review
• NRC Accepts NANO KRONOS MMR Construction Permit Application for Review
• NRC Speeds Up Review of Orano Enrichment Plant in Tennessee
• TerraPower Inks Two Key Agreements with S. Korea’s Hyundai
• Blykalla Submits Application To Build 330-MW SMR in Sweden
• EDF Joins Alliance To Support AI Gigafactory Bid

Constellation Seeks Early Site Permit at Oswego, NY

Constellation Energy Corp., which owns and operates three nuclear reactors in upstate New York, announced it will seek an Early Site Permit (ESP) from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop one or more advanced nuclear reactors at a site in Oswego County, NY.

The utility will use $30 million in combined federal and state funding to cover the costs of filing for the ESP.

The funds include $17.3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and $12.5 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

New York has three operating nuclear power plants all of which are in the state’s northern tier. Oswego is just under 300 miles northwest of New York city. New York’s 3.4 GW nuclear capacity provides 20% of of the state’s electricity, and 42% of carbon-free power. Three nuclear power plants, Ginna, Nine Mile Point, and FitzPatrick, are located on the south shore of Lake Ontario and are owned and operated by Constellation.

With existing infrastructure and grid connections in the Oswego region, it makes sense for the State of New York to consider siting future nuclear power plants adjacent to one or more of these existing reactors.

According to Constellation, the ESP will address either Gen III full size light water reactors of 1,00 MW or more or advanced designs of small modular reactors of 300 MW or less. The DOE grant targets site preparation for the development of so-called “Generation III,’’ or Gen III, reactors, or small modular reactors, or SMRs including advanced reactor designs.

Gen III reactors, which can vary in size from less than 50 MW to more than 1,000 MW, have passive safety systems and other new technology. SMRs are typically no larger than 300 MW, although they can be designed to be chained together.

Constellation officials did not provide a timeline for submitting the ESP. The NRC has 18 months to review the application after it is accepted by the agency.

ESP Pathways to a License: Parts 50 & 52

By issuing an early site permit (ESP), the NRC approves one or more sites for a nuclear power facility, independent of an application for a construction permit or combined license. An ESP is valid for 10 to 20 years from the date of issuance, and can be renewed for an additional 10 to 20 years. Typically, an ESP is technology neutron in that the utility submitting the application does not specify a reactor design or power rating.

An approved ESP can speed up the review of an application for either a license Part 50 or Part 52 because some of the data needed for the Part 50 or Part 52 license is in the ESP and can be readily adapted to the licensing process thus avoiding expensive and time consuming do overs. For a 1,000 MW Gen III+ reactor, this is a big deal.

In reviewing an ESP application for Part 50 or Part 52, the NRC staff will address site safety issues, environmental protection issues, and plans for coping with emergencies, independent of the review of a specific nuclear plant design. During this process, the NRC notifies all stakeholders (including the public) as to how and when they may participate in the regulatory process, which may include participating in public meetings and opportunities to request a hearing on the issuance of an ESP.

Gaps in Part53 Need to Be Closed to Get the Benefits of an ESP

Constellation is also considering advanced reactors for a site in the Oswego, NY region, The path forward from an ESP to a license an advanced reactor (SMR or micro) under Part 53 is less certain. According to an analysis published by the Breakthrough Institute on 04/09/26 of the newNRC Part 53 regulation , under the final Part 53 rule “the NRC did not codify a formal pathway for transitioning or directly transferring approvals between Part 52 and Part 53.”

“The Rule’s Constraint: As written, all licensing instruments referenced in a Part 53 application must have been natively issued under Part 53. Therefore, a Part 53 Combined License (COL) application cannot directly reference a Part 52 ESP to gain automatic regulatory finality for site safety and environmental issues. This means you cannot simply “plug and play” a Part 52 ESP into a Part 53 application to bypass the NRC’s review of previously resolved site issues.”

According to trade press reports, in summary, the nuclear industry is advocating that the NRC issue standardized exemptions or supplemental guidance for the use of ESPs in the Part 53 licensing process for advanced reactors. The goal is to allow developers to more efficiently bridge Part 52 site approvals into Part 53 applications without redundant reviews. These mesasures would include allowing the re-use of environmental and other site characterization data. Changes also being proposed are to adapt the data in the ESP to meet the requirements of the Part 53 risk-informed framework to prove that an advanced reactor design achieves acceptable risks at a specific location.

Note that the Part 53 proposed regulation significantly changes the requirements for an emergency planning zone (EPZ). In its analysis the Breakthrough Institute notes, under Part 53 the EPZ can be restricted entirely to the site boundary. This is due to the fact that many advanced reactor designs (such as microreactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and molten salt designs) utilize passive safety features, lower operating pressures, and smaller core inventories, their maximum credible accident scenario may never cause a dose exceeding 1 rem offsite.

“Eliminating an offsite EPZ completely removes the requirement for dedicated offsite public evacuation plans, sirens, and intensive multi-jurisdictional emergency drill coordination with state and local governments. This allows advanced reactors to be sited closer to industrial processes, data centers, and populated areas.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is All In in Constellation’s Plan

According to news media reports, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is seeking to make New York a leader in new nuclear power, cheered the announcement. Hochul aims to more than double the state’s nuclear generating capacity, from 3.4 GW to 8.4 GW.

“A centerpiece of my all-of-the-above approach to energy is developing cleaner, more reliable nuclear power,” Hochul said in a prepared statement. “We are making steady progress toward that goal and this funding commitment moves us even closer.”

Governor Hochul’s ambitions for increases in nuclear power serving the state are driven by growing demand for electicity in the states. Operators of New York’s electric grid predict that demand for electricity will grow 50% to 90% over the next two decades. Officials at the nonprofit New York Independent System Operator are reported to have urged state officials to develop new generation resources at a much faster pace.

According to media reports New York utility regulators in January approved a continuation of ratepayer subsidies to the existing nuclear plan plants, which have received payments of about $500 million a year since 2017. The state will provide revenue guarantees to the existing nuclear plants through 2049. The subsidies, which vary with wholesale electric prices, could be worth as much as $33 billion to Constellation over the next 20 years.

New York’s Nuclear Initiative

In October 2025 the New York Power Authority (NYPA) released a formal solicitation inviting input from upstate NY communities with interest in hosting a nuclear energy project. It is assumed that any community seeking to host a new nuclear power station would have one or more private sector partners.

The request for information (RFI) asks for “actionable project concepts and business models in developing advanced nuclear projects in upstate New York.”

NYPA’s objective is to develop 1 GW of nuclear generating capacity either alone or in partnership with other entites. The NYPA said in the solicitation that it wants to “evaluate the technologies, business models and locations to help bring this capacity online in partnership with other public and private entities.” In casting a wide net for opportunties, the agency appears to be indicating that it is not fixed on any particular solution or arrangement so long as what is proposed can get the job done. The NYPA put a clock on the initiative and included a list of deliverables. It wrote in the RFI,

“NYPA seeks detailed responses from nuclear project developers and partners, e.g., local communities, to provide viable project concepts that include technology, siting considerations, cost and timeline assumptions, ownership structure and partnership models with NYPA that can demonstrate a credible path to delivering at least 1 GW of advanced nuclear capacity as soon as possible, but no later than 2040.”

In addition to the RFI the NYPA said it is also pursuing an Advanced Nuclear Master Plan. The plan will provide a framework for in-depth examination into the key issues to develop recommendations for implementation of advanced nuclear technologies in New York State.

NYPA defines ‘Advanced Nuclear’ as including both Gen III+ and Gen IV designs as being acceptable. However, the RFI rules out first-of-a-kind offerings (FOAK) and the offering must be based on a project, e.g, reactor design, that already has a track record. The RFI said,

“NYPA will consider both Gen III+ and Gen IV technologies, provided that a FOAK project (either by the respondent or by another owner/developer) must be at or beyond First Nuclear Concrete by early 2030 (North America projects only).”

The NYPA did not specifically distinguish in seeking 1 GW of power between groups of small modular reactors and one large 1 GW plant.

In the world of SMRs, the most likely designs, at this stage, that will be able to meet these requirements will be NuScale’s 77 MW SMR and the GEH BWRX300. In terms of 1 GW scale reactors, only the Westinghouse AP1000 is likely to be in the running.

No timeline appears to have been offered for building and adding the power from a new 1,000 MW reactor to the grid. Even if a new 1,000 MW reactor broke ground today (May 2026) it would be the mid-2030s before it was in revenue serive. Given that a final investment decision for such a project is a few years in the future, any additions to the New York grid are even further in the future.

NY is Playing Catch Up in the Nuclear Space

The State of New York is playing catch up in terms of serving ratepayers with reliable carbon free electricity. Indian Point’s twin nuclear reactor shut down in 2021. For nearly 45 years, Unit 2 and 3 provided about 25% of the power for New York City and Westchester County. The power plant was challenged by opposition from environmentalists for decades in efforts to close them.

Green groups tried to impose requirements on Energy, the utility owner and operator of Indian Point, to spend billions on construction of cooling towers saying the once through system killed fish. Riverkeeper, a green group with members who’s deep pockets provided campaign donations to Cumo’s re-election efforts, led the fight against continued operation of the power station.

The permanent shutdown of the Indian Point Energy Center’s two operating nuclear reactors, Unit 2 in April 2020 and Unit 3 in April 2021, removed approximately 2,200 MW of zero-carbon baseload capacity from the New York grid. This closure resulted in an annual deficit of roughly 16 to 16.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity generation, which previously supplied about 25% of the power for New York City and Westchester County. Sources: Energy Information Administration, Nuclear New York

The Role of Natural Gas as the Primary Replacement of Indian Point

In the five years following these closures, the grid’s deficit was addressed almost entirely by natural gas, while coal played no role due to a concurrent state phase-out of coal-fired power plants. Some of these coal plants could be sites for future SMRs or micro reactors.

Natural gas-fired generation served as the primary mechanism to make up for the massive power deficit left by Indian Point. Rather than being immediately replaced by wind or solar.Overall, the loss of nuclear power triggered a substantial market transfer to fossil gas combustion. Green groups promised that the renewables would make up the difference. The development of new gas plants proved them wrong.

New Infrastructure Activations: To handle the downstate power shortfall, three major natural gas-fired plants were heavily relied upon or brought online. Together, these facilities introduced nearly 1.8 GW of natural gas capacity, effectively offsetting 90% of the lost physical capacity from the nuclear reactors.

Cricket Valley Energy Center (1,020 MW)
CPV Valley Energy Center (678 MW)
Bayonne Energy Center II (120 MW)

Statewide Generation Surges: According to reports from the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the statewide share of electricity generated from fossil fuels jumped by 14 percentage points almost immediately, rising from 30.5% in 2019 to 44.5% by late 2021. Within the first few years post-closure, natural gas and dual-fuel facilities expanded to generate over 50.5% of New York’s total electricity.

Severe Impacts Downstate: Because Indian Point directly served the downstate region, including the New York City region, the regional grid experienced there experienced the sharpest regression. Downstate electricity generation went from being 68% fossil-powered in 2019 to over 94% to 95% post-closure, making the local grid heavily dependent on gas-fired generation.

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Nebraska in Pursuit of Four Sites for Advanced Reactors

A siting feasibility study conducted by the State of Nebraska found that Sutherland, Beatrice, Brownville, and Norfolk are the top four communities best suited to host a next generation nuclear facility, based on current infrastructure and siting criteria.

According to Wikipedia all four communities are quite small. Two have populations of 1,000 or fewer residents and two have populations of less than 25,000 residents. The impact of new nuclear reactors in any of these small communities would likely require massive subsidies from the State of Nebraska or the utilities building the reactors to meet the demand for new municipal services as the existing tax base in any of them would simply not be up to the task.

Sutherland is a village in Lincoln County, NB. It is part of the North Platte, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Sutherland had a population of 1,313.

Brownville is a village in Nemaha County, NB. The village population was 142 at the 2020 census. The population of Nemaha County is just over 7,000 people as of the 2020 census. Brownwille is just north of the Cooper Nuclear Power plant which sits halfway between the towns of Brownville and Nemaha on the banks of Missouri River.

The 769 MW BWR was commissioned in 1974. The curent NRC license expires in 2034. The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) which owns and operates the reactor, applied on 05/21/26 to the NRC for a 20 year license extension. It generates about 17% of the electricity used in Nebraska.

Beatrice is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, NB. Its population was 12,261 at the 2020 census, making it the 15th most populous city in Nebraska. Beatrice is located approximately 42 miles south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River.

Norfolk is a city in Madison County, NB, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-most populous city in Nebraska.

The siting feasibility study (full tecxt PDF file) was conducted at the direction of the Nebraska Legislature, who allocated $1 million to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (NDED) to fund the study. NDED subsequently awarded the funds to NPPD, which operates Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville which is the state’s only nuclear power generator.

The technical evaluation in the second phase was based on current criteria available from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for siting a nuclear generating facility.

NPPD said it is now forming the Great Plains New Nuclear Consortium, alongside Omaha Public Power District, Lincoln Electric Systems, and Grand River Dam Authority. This consortium will explore the feasibility and development of deploying between 1,000 and 2,000 MW of new nuclear technology, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), within Nebraska to serve the needs of the four utilities in the Southwest Power Pool market footprint.

Each utility will fund its own early-stage work. Any future steps, such as investment, permitting or construction, would follow public engagement and each utility’s independent board approval process.

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Antares Signs Long-Term HALEU Supply Agreement with Urenco

Antares has signed a long-term enrichment services agreement with Urenco to supply High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) for its factory-produced microreactors. The deal secures one of the most constrained inputs for advanced reactor commercialization and reinforces a reliable Western fuel supply chain for next-generation nuclear energy.

Under the agreement, Urenco will provide enrichment services for HALEU to support Antares’ planned microreactor deployments in North America and allied markets. The fuel will be produced at Urenco’s HALEU enrichment facility in the United Kingdom, which is on schedule to be one of the first Western licensed facilities.

According to a report in World Nuclear News, in February 2026 BWX Technologies says its TRISO nuclear fuel for Antares Nuclear is on track for “timely completion” for the reactor demonstration planned to meet the US’s 4 July target date. BWX Technologies (BWXT) said that fuel fabrication for Antares Nuclear began in October 2025 at its Lynchburg Speciality Fuels Fabrication facility, and when ready it will be shipped to Idaho National Laboratory, where Antares is building its pilot reactor.

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X-Energy Plan for HTGRs at DOW Texas Plant Clears NRC Enviromental Review

• NRC Issues Environmental Assessment with ‘Finding of No Significant Impact’ for Dow and X-energy’s Proposed Advanced Nuclear Project in Texas

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed its Environmental Assessment (EA) for Dow (NYSE: DOW) and X-energy, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: XE) Construction Permit Application (CPA) for a proposed advanced nuclear project in Seadrift, TX. The NRC’s review was completed ahead of schedule following a comprehensive independent analysis by the NRC, concluding with a Finding of No Significant Impact (“FONSI”).

Long Mott Generating Station is being developed through Dow’s wholly owned subsidiary, Long Mott Energy, LLC under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).

The proposed project would provide both electricity and high-temperature industrial steam to Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations. Once complete, Long Mott Generating Station is expected to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.

The FONSI conclusion on the EA follows an extensive independent analysis by NRC staff, evaluating potential impacts to air quality, water resources, and local species habitats under globally recognized safety and environmental standards. The NRC completed its environmental review in under one year, benefiting from X-energy’s pre-licensing work on its XE-100 small modular reactor, and a comprehensive CPA submittal that meets the federal requirements for the protection of public health, safety, and the environment.

Dow and X-energy’s CPA included a 1,000+ page Environmental Report supported by year-long field surveys, groundwater monitoring wells with 12 months of water quality measurements, and engagement with multiple state agencies including the Texas Historical Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Texas General Land Office. Throughout the project, Dow and X-energy have taken a proactive approach to environmental mitigation by identifying sensitive habitats before completing the site layout, proposing facility siting to avoid impacts to protected resources, and designing around environmental constraints rather than mitigating for them after the fact.

According to a joint press statement, since 2018, X-energy, and subsequently Dow, have worked with the NRC through extensive pre-application engagement to demonstrate the XE-100’s safety profile. This technical foundation helped enable a predictable, well-defined regulatory process focused on site-specific factors rather than fundamental reactor safety questions, creating opportunities for enhanced efficiency throughout the licensing process.

X-energy’s XE-100 is an 80 MW high-temperature gas-cooled reactor designed to enable a minimal environmental footprint. The reactor’s helium coolant does not become radioactive during operation, eliminating entire categories of radiological considerations and adverse environmental impacts.

Minimal water requirements eliminate major aquatic ecosystem impacts, and the absence of cooling towers or water intake structures reduces both visual and environmental disruption, as well as site impact during construction. X-Energy notes that these design characteristics enable environmental protection while delivering reliable, clean energy for industrial applications.

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NRC Accepts NANO KRONOS MMR Construction Permit Application for Review

NANO Nuclear announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has formally accepted the previously submitted Construction Permit Application (CPA) for the deployment of the Company’s KRONOS MMR at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The CPA was submitted to the NRC on March 31, 2026 by the U. of I., NANO Nuclear’s partner for the planned full-scale KRONOS MMR reactor at the university. Acceptance of the CPA signifies the application contains sufficient information for the NRC to begin its formal safety, environmental, and technical review process.

Based on NANO Nuclear’s current understanding of the anticipated scope and review process, the Company estimates the NRC formal review will be completed in 2027, providing the opportunity for NANO Nuclear to begin nuclear construction activities at the university site in the second half of 2027.

KRONOS MMR is NANO Nuclear’s proprietary, stationary high-temperature gas-cooled microreactor under development, designed to energy for applications including data centers, industrial facilities, remote communities and mining projects, and military bases, in addition to process heat for various end markets.

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NRC Speeds UP Review of Orano Enrichment Plant in Tennessee

• NRC Launches Accelerated Review of NewU.S. Uranium Enrichment Facility to Strengthen Nuclear Fuel Supply

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review an application for a major new uranium enrichment facility in Tennessee, a project aimed at expanding domestic nuclear fuel production and reducing U.S. reliance on foreign enrichment sources.

Orano Enrichment USA LLC has requested a license to build and operate a new uranium enrichment facility, named Project IKE, near Oak Ridge, TN. This project is part of a broader national effort to rebuild America’s domestic nuclear fuel supply chain amid growing concerns over reliance on foreign enrichment services.

The NRC intends to complete its technical review within 12 months, assuming high-quality and timely inputs. The accelerated timeline reflects the agency’s broader push to modernize its licensing processes under Executive Order 14300.

“NRC is safely enabling America’s efforts to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign enrichment,” Chairman Ho K. Nieh said.

“Credible, predictable and timely safety reviews—this is how NRC supports American leadership in nuclear energy.” Orano’s facility will use gas centrifuge technology to produce low-enriched uranium for commercial nuclear power plants, reducing U.S. dependence on foreign uranium enrichment, a critical vulnerability that policymakers and industry leaders have flagged as a national energy security concern.

What the Review Involves: The NRC’s evaluation will include a detailed safety and security assessment and environmental review to ensure the proposed facility meets NRC requirements for protecting public health and the environment. Orano submitted its environmental report in January 2026 an The NRC’s evaluation will include a detailed safety and security assessment and environmental review to ensure the proposed facility meets NRC requirements for protecting public health and the environment. Orano submitted its environmental report in January 2026 and its application in March. A formal hearing process will follow the technical review, with specific dates to be established.

Why it Matters: Domestic uranium enrichment capacity is a linchpin of U.S. energy security. Commercial nuclear power plants generate up to 20 percent of America’s electricity annually, and virtually all of them depend on enriched uranium fuel. Project IKE would add a significant new source of that fuel, produced on American soil. More information about Orano’s application is available on the NRC’s website.

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TerraPower Inks Two Key Agreements with S. Korea’s Hyundai

TerraPower announced new agreements with HD Hyundai and Hyundai Engineering & Construction (HDEC) to support the rapid commercialization and deployment of a fleet of Natrium advanced nuclear plants.

TerraPower and HD Hyundai signed a supply framework agreement that establishes HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), a shipbuilding subsidiary of HD Hyundai, as a preferred manufacturer for Natrium Reactor Enclosure System (RES) components, securing a scalable supply chain for serial production of Natrium reactors.

In a separate agreement, TerraPower, HD Hyundai and HDEC outlined a strategy to leverage HD Hyundai and HDEC’s expertise in project delivery and execution excellence to support TerraPower’s commercialization plans. The three companies plan to collaborate on the design, manufacturing, supply chain, construction, commercial structure and delivery of multiple units of TerraPower’s Natrium technology.

These agreements come after TerraPower and Meta in January announced a deal to develop Natrium plants in the U.S. Also, they follow the official start of construction on TerraPower’s flagship Natrium plant in Wyoming in April.

In the joint press statements, the firms said that through an integrated approach to design, manufacturing and construction, such a collaboration would support reliable, scalable and economically competitive advanced nuclear solutions.

This strategic collaboration would aim to accelerate advanced nuclear deployment by leveraging TerraPower’s innovation leadership and the global industrial capabilities of both HD Hyundai and HDEC. TerraPower, HD Hyundai and HDEC’s collaboration would leverage American innovation and Korean industrial expertise for advanced reactor deployments, supporting a global shift toward innovative, next generation nuclear technologies.

About the Natrium Technology: The Natrium plant design features a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a patented molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s output to 500 MW of power when needed as it is designed to keep base output steady, ensuring constant reliability, and can quickly ramp up when demand peaks—it is the only advanced reactor design with this unique feature.

The first Natrium plant is being developed through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a public-private partnership. That project is expected to be completed in 2030 and will be the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant in the United States. TerraPower is rapidly commercializing the Natrium technology, which includes an agreement with Meta for up to eight Natrium plants by 2035.

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Blykalla Submits Application To Build 330-MW SMR in Sweden

• Company says advanced modular units could be online in first half of 2030s

(NucNet) Sweden-based advanced nuclear technology company has Blykalla has submitted the first-ever application to the Swedish government to build the nation’s first commercial advanced nuclear reactor park in Norrsundet, Gävle municipality, two hours north of Stockholm.

The proposed facility in southeast Sweden will feature six of Blykalla’s lead-cooled Sealer advanced modular reactors (AMRs) generating 330 MW of clean baseload power.

The Swedish government review of Blykalla’s application marks the start of a comprehensive approval process involving multiple agencies, including the Land and Environmental Court and Swedish Radiation Safety Authority. Municipal approval from the municipality of Gävle is also required. Subject to the permits and final investment decisions, the facility could become operational in the first half of the 2030s.

Blykalla said the timing is critical. “Europe faces mounting pressure to power its digital economy while maintaining energy independence and meeting climate goals.

Advanced Nuclear ‘Is The Solution’

Blykalla also said it is Blykalla is expanding its operations to the US, bringing its lead-cooled reactor technology to a new market that is experiencing tremendous demand for power, driven in part by AI data centres.

Blykalla has partnered with US nuclear technology company Oklo to support technical works relevant to Oklo’s reactor pilot project, including neutronics and thermohydraulics analyses. This collaboration will help Oklo accelerate its technology development, while enabling Blykalla to advance its reactor deployment capabilities. Last year Blykalla raised $50 million to accelerate its work.

Blykalla has been working on two key projects – constructing an electric non-nuclear prototype test reactor at Oskarshamn in Sweden and developing a flagship advanced reactor design demonstrator called Sealer-One. The Sealer-One prototype will help it towards the ultimate goal of production of its 55-MW Sealer-55 lead-cooled reactor.

Lead-cooled nuclear plants are not yet operating, but are being developed as next-generation, or Generation IV, reactors.

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EDF Joins Alliance To Support AI Gigafactory Bid

(WNN contributed to this report) The French utility has joined an alliance with tech companies Artefact, Bull and Capgemini, telecommunications companies the iliad Group, its data centere arm Scaleway, and Orange, and private equity firm Ardian to combine their expertise within the AION consortium to support the French application within the framework of the European AI Gigafactories program.  (See large graphic map of the locations of EU gigafactories)

AI Gigafactories will be high-capacity AI infrastructure hubs that build on the existing EU AI Factories initiative – with significantly greater compute power, integrated data resources, and automation. 

While Americans are diving into NIMBY battles over the locations of AI data centers, and regional grids are failing to grapple with the demand of electricity from them, regardless of location, EU countries are getting ready to eat our lunch with a multi-nation gigafactory strategy. Yet, this initiative also faces issues related to grid capacity. See this video for an introduction to the gigafactory world.

In a joint press statement, the participating firms said the future competitiveness of European economies will depend directly on their ability to access massive, available, competitive, and sovereign computing power, the companies said.

“The challenge is industrial, economic, and strategic: enabling European companies to train, deploy, and operate their AI models under controlled conditions of performance, cost, and sovereignty. This is the ambition of the project led by the AION consortium.”

AION was launched in June 2025 by European cloud and AI provider Scaleway, bringing together public, private, and academic partners to support the development of sovereign, high-performance infrastructure for AI in Europe. The effort is in response to an invitation for expressions of interest in contributing to the future development of AI Gigafactories in the European Union.

The invitation was issued by the European Union and EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, a joint initiative between the EU, European countries and private partners set up in 2018 to coordinate their efforts and pool their resources to develop a world-class supercomputing ecosystem.

France would be a “strategic choice” to host a European AI Gigafactory, the companies said, with unique advantages including “abundant, competitive, sovereign, and low-carbon electricity thanks to its mix mainly composed of nuclear and hydroelectric power, robust digital infrastructure and recognised expertise across the entire value chain, particularly in data centres, cloud computing and high-performance computing”.

The AION consortium is based on four fundamental pillars: 

• Performance: deploying a world-class AI infrastructure to serve the European economy; 
• Trust: strengthening European strategic autonomy through complete control of the AI value chain with the support of sovereign actors; 
• Openness: promoting the use of open source technologies and partnerships serving the European ecosystem; 
• Responsibility: to develop AI to serve research, businesses and European citizens with particular attention to controlling its environmental footprint. 

Béatrice Bigois, Group Executive Director in charge of EDF’s Customers, Services and Territories division, said France has major assets to drive the development of AI infrastructure, including competitive, sovereign and low-carbon electricity. “With this consortium, we are choosing a collective ambition: to build a world-class European AI Gigafactory from France. EDF intends to fully contribute to this strategic dynamic for Europe.”

What Are GigaFactories, Why Do They Matter, and What Are the Challenges Ahead for Them?

According to an excellent analysis by Tech Trends Plus, power, latency, and infrastructure constraints are reshaping sovereign AI in Europe. The report includes a review of proposed facilities by country and the best uses of them. The report includes useful data tables and AI generated infographics to highlight key issues.

“Europe is investing €20 billion into AI gigafactories, but a critical bottleneck is already emerging: power and grid capacity. While headlines focus on GPUs and sovereignty, the real constraint is electricity access and latency. This guide breaks down the hidden problems shaping Europe’s AI infrastructure in 2026—and what enterprises must do about them.”

Key Takeaway by Tech Trends Plus: AI gigafactories in Europe are not just larger data centers—they are sovereign, regulation-aligned compute systems combining GPU clusters, energy infrastructure, and compliance layers. In 2026, enterprises must balance latency, power access, and EU AI Act requirements when choosing between Nordic training hubs, central inference clusters, or hybrid “split-stack” deployments.

According to Tech Trends Plus, “the term ‘Gigafactory sounds like hype. It isn’t. AI gigafactories are ultra-scale computer facilities designed specifically for training and running large AI systems. They go far beyond traditional data centers in size, power density, and regulatory integration. This isn’t about “where your app runs.” It’s about who controls the intelligence layer of Europe’s economy.”