Vattenfall picks Rolls-Royce SMR for new Ringhals reactors

Videberg Kraft, the project company owned by Vattenfall and Industrikraft, has selected Rolls-Royce SMR to supply new nuclear power at Väröhalvön, next to the existing Ringhals plant in southwest Sweden.

The decision, announced on June 15, 2026, ends the final supplier race between Rolls-Royce SMR and GE Vernova and moves the project into detailed planning. Vattenfall said the selection followed a process that began with more than 70 candidates and took about four years to narrow.

What Vattenfall chose

The plan now is for three reactors based on small modular reactor technology. Vattenfall describes each unit as 470 megawatts, for a combined project size of about 1,500 megawatts.

That would make the project one of Sweden’s most significant new electricity investments in years. It would also be the country’s first new nuclear build in more than 40 years if the project is carried through to completion.

Vattenfall said the selected design uses pressurized water reactor technology similar to the technology already in use at Ringhals. The company said that gave the project a technical continuity with the existing site.

The utility also said Rolls-Royce SMR’s offer created the strongest conditions for a successful project. It said the vendor comparison was reviewed by an independent party.

How the race narrowed

Vattenfall had already reduced the field to two finalists: Rolls-Royce SMR and GE Vernova. The new announcement confirms the UK-based supplier won that final comparison.

The selection is a major milestone for a project that has been under discussion for years. It turns a broad international supplier search into a named technology choice for Sweden’s most closely watched new-nuclear plan.

The company said the process started with more than 70 candidate suppliers before the list was gradually reduced. The long process reflects how much of the project has depended on supplier, delivery and build-risk assessments before any final investment decision.

Why Rolls-Royce SMR won

Vattenfall said the chosen proposal offered the best conditions for delivery. The company pointed to the industrialized nature of the SMR concept and to lower delay risk.

The fact that the design is based on pressurized water reactor technology also mattered, according to Vattenfall, because that is similar to the technology already used at Ringhals. That link to the existing site appears to have strengthened the case for the project.

The announcement does not eliminate uncertainty about the broader project. It does, however, remove one of the biggest unknowns by naming the supplier for the next planning phase.

What happens next

Vattenfall said the project now enters detailed planning with Industrikraft. That phase will shape the technical design, project structure and schedule before later decisions are made.

More steps still lie ahead. Vattenfall said a state risk-sharing application is expected later in the process, and a final supplier and investment process still has to be completed before construction can move forward.

Reporting on the announcement said the first unit could come online in the mid-2030s, with the remaining reactors following later in the 2030s or early 2040s. Those timings are not yet locked in.

Why it matters

Ringhals is already one of Sweden’s core nuclear sites, and the new project would extend that role rather than create a new nuclear location. The Väröhalvön site also sits in a region where electricity supply and industrial demand matter politically and economically.

The selection matters because it reduces a major source of uncertainty in a flagship project that could shape Sweden’s energy planning for years. It also gives more substance to the country’s broader nuclear comeback after decades without a new reactor build.

Svenska Dagbladet and Financial Times both corroborated the decision on the same day. Their reporting aligned with Vattenfall’s announcement that the project has moved from vendor selection into a more detailed development stage.