At the end of October, a group of representatives from universities, local authorities, civil society organisations and students travelled from Estonia to Sweden to visit the Forsmark nuclear power plant and learn about the training of the plant's staff and the management of nuclear waste reprocessing and disposal.
"KSU (a subsidiary of Vattenfall), the Swedish training centre for nuclear plant operators and many technical training courses, organised a very interesting and informative seminar for us, as well as a visit to the plant and its simulators. It is good to see that Estonia's nuclear programme is supported by very competent organisations with long experience. It was a good start in a long term cooperation," said Henri Ormus, Vice President of the European Nuclear Energy Association and Fermi Energia Founder and Board Member.
The visit of the Estonian delegation to the Swedish plant was the first after a long break due to restrictions following the outbreak of the coronavirus. This was made possible thanks to close cooperation between the Estonian company Fermi Energia and the Swedish national energy company Vattenfall.
The Estonian delegation visited the KSU training centre for nuclear power plant staff. They were introduced to the new virtual reality solutions, which allow the staff to study both the reactor section and the plant as a whole without leaving the classroom. They were also given an overview of the spent fuel disposal facility to be built at the Forsmark plant.
At the end of the trip, the delegation visited the third power unit of the Forsmark nuclear power plant. During the visit, they were shown the simulator in the control room of the third reactor, which will be used to train the future operators of the plant. They were also able to see the reactor and turbine halls.
"There is such a peaceful atmosphere around the nuclear power plant - birds, trees, a beautiful mansion - that it is hard to imagine how much power is hidden in three blocks of nuclear power plants by the sea, and that mankind has managed to tame and control this power," said Diana Berseneva, head of the Master's programme in Fuel Chemistry and Technology at TalTech Virumaa College.
The trip was paid for by Fermi Energia. Those wishing to take part in future study trips may leave their details at the following address Click here.
Vattenfall is a Swedish state-owned energy company that operates ten nuclear reactors - seven in Sweden and three in Germany - and is the second largest electricity producer in Europe. Vattenfall is also active in Finland, Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands.
Fermi Energia, an Estonian company, is exploring the possibility of deploying a new generation of modular reactors in Estonia to ensure the country's stable electricity supply and meet climate targets.