Finnish utility Fortum has launched a two-year feasibility study to examine the prerequisites for nuclear new build in Finland and Sweden. The study will consider both small modular reactors and conventional large reactors.

Power output from the 1600 MWe Olkiluoto 3 EPR in Finland has reached 100% as commissioning tests of the reactor continue, operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has announced. Regular electricity production is scheduled to start in December.

UPDATED Fennovoima and Rosatom have initiated proceedings against each other to claim compensation for damages arising from the termination of the planned Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant project at Pyhäjoki in northern Finland. Fennovoima said its claims currently total almost EUR2 billion (USD2 billion), while Rosatom said it is seeking USD3 billion from Fennovoima.

An arbitration tribunal has resolved all the claims presented by the parties in proceedings between Teollisuuden Voima Oyj and Wärtsilä Finland Oy concerning a 2013 contract for emergency backup generators at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant.

The test production phase has resumed at the Olkiluoto 3 EPR in Finland following the completion of maintenance and repair activities in the plant's turbine island. Operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj said the tests will now continue at a power level of 60%, increasing to 80% in mid-August and reaching full power in September.

The excavation of the first five actual disposal tunnels has been completed at the Onkalo underground used nuclear fuel repository near Olkiluoto, Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva Oy announced.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has completed a follow-up nuclear security advisory mission to Finland. The International Physical Protection Advisory Service mission included a review of the legislative and regulatory framework for the physical protection of nuclear material and associated facilities and activities.

The issue of foreign material in the steam reheater of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR's turbine has delayed the start of regular electricity generation by a further three months, operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has announced.

Nuclear fuel debris filters manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB using 3D printing technology have been installed at unit 2 of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Finland and unit 3 of the Oskarshamn plant in Sweden.

Europe cannot be carbon neutral and self-sufficient without nuclear energy, Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä has said. Nuclear power, he said, offers solutions - such as small modular reactors - for phasing out fossil energy.

Skanska Talonrakennus Oy, the contractor responsible for construction of the used fuel encapsulation plant at Olkiluoto, handed over the building to Finnish waste management company Posiva at the end of May for installation of the nuclear systems.

France's Nuward small modular reactor design will be the case study for a European early joint regulatory review led by the French nuclear safety regulator with the participation of the Czech and Finnish nuclear regulators, EDF has announced.