One of Europe's largest battery energy storage systems is to be built at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Finland under a contract signed by Teollisuuden Voima Oyj and Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The 90 MWe system will act as a fast-start backup power source to ensure the stability of the country's energy network in the event of an unplanned shutdown of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR unit, currently being commissioned at the site.

An inspection and cleaning robot has been co-developed by Finnish utility Fortum and Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. The remotely-operated robot could significantly improve work safety and reduce radiation doses that workers are exposed to during the inspection and maintenance of the steam generators at the Loviisa nuclear power plant.

TVEL, the fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom, has completed development of a new modification of VVER-440 fuel for the Loviisa nuclear power plant in Finland. It says the modified VVER-440 fuel bundle with higher uranium load will enhance the efficiency of fuel usage, as well as the power plant's operation in general.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj announced yesterday it has reached a consensus with the Areva−Siemens consortium regarding the terms of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR project completion. The OL3 plant, construction of which began in 2005, is scheduled to be connected to the grid in October this year and to begin regular electricity production in February 2022.

Excavation of the first final disposal tunnel has started at the Onkalo underground used nuclear fuel repository near Olkiluoto, Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva Oy announced today. The repository - the first in the world for used fuel - is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s.

The planned Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland is now likely to enter commercial operation a year later and cost up to EUR1 billion (USD1.2 billion) more than previously expected, Fennovoima says in an update to its construction licence application. The company submitted the update today to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Significant progress was made last year with work to obtain a construction licence for the Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland, Fennovoima said in its 2020 Annual Report, released yesterday. It still expects to receive the licence by the end of 2021 despite a "challenging" schedule.

The loading of fuel assemblies into the Olkiluoto 3 EPR in Finland began on 27 March, utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has announced. The move follows the receipt of a permit from the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority the previous day. The process of loading the fuel assemblies into OL3 is expected to take about one week, TVO said.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has been granted a permit by the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority to load fuel into the reactor of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR. The unit, construction of which began in 2005, is scheduled to enter commercial operation early next year.

Partially used irradiated fuel from the Finnish Reactor 1 in Espoo, Finland, has been transported to the USA for use in a TRIGA Mark I research reactor operated by the US Geological Survey in Denver, Colorado. Dismantling of the Finnish reactor, which was shut down in 2015, is scheduled to begin at the end of 2022.

Fennovoima Oy has "provisionally accepted" the 'Basic Design Stage 1' documentation for the Hanhikivi-1 project in Finland from the nuclear reactor supplier, RAOS Project Oy, which is a subsidiary of Rusatom Energy International JSC, which is itself a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Shareholders in Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj have signed an additional shareholder loan commitment for EUR400 million (USD490 million). With the new shareholder loan commitment, TVO said it prepares to maintain a sufficient liquidity buffer and equity ratio in order to complete the Olkiluoto 3 EPR project.