Helen CEO Says CHP Integration Can Halve SMR Costs, Targets 2039 Finland Start
Helen's chief executive told Montel that co-generation could cut small modular reactor costs in half, reshaping how Nordic municipal utilities approach nuclear project finance.
The chief executive of Finnish municipal utility Helen told Montel on Friday (2026-08-21) that combining heat and power production can halve the cost of small modular reactors, and that Helen has set its sights on operating a reactor by 2039.6
SMR construction costs have been the persistent sticking point for developers across Europe. Halving them through co-generation would substantially change project financing calculus for utilities that have historically struggled to make the numbers work on nuclear. Helen already operates district heating infrastructure, giving it a direct revenue stream from thermal output that a pure-power nuclear plant cannot capture.6
The combined heat and power angle also shifts which companies can credibly sponsor an SMR project. Municipal heat utilities, not national grid operators, become the natural buyers if the technology can deliver heat alongside electricity at competitive cost. That is a different developer-customer dynamic than the one large European nuclear projects have historically required.6,3
Helen is not alone in pursuing this application. Steady Energy signed a letter of intent with Alva-yhtiöt, the city of Jyväskylä's water and energy group, on May 19 (2026-05-19) to study the feasibility of small-scale nuclear as a district heating source, according to Power Magazine. Two separate municipal studies in different Finnish cities within the same year suggest the district heating application has moved from concept to pre-development.3
Fortum's position is more measured on timelines. Markus Rauramo, the state-owned utility's chief executive, told Montel in May (2026-05-21) that renewable energy could meet growing Nordic data centre power demand in many cases without new nuclear investment in the short term. Yet Rauramo also told Montel in June (2026-06-11) that Finland would likely manage what he called "massive" power demand growth from data centres, citing the country's land and grid access advantages.2,5
Finland's installed wind capacity reached 9.4 GW in 2025, covering around 28% of total electricity consumption, according to Renewables Finland. Industry participants told Montel during the week of May 18 (2026-05-18) that data centre demand was expected to support further onshore wind investment. Wind addresses electricity load. It does not provide dispatchable heat at city scale, and that gap is what Helen is positioning SMRs to fill.1
Sweden has moved further along the state-backing track. The Riksdag passed legislation in May 2025 authorizing state support for up to approximately 5,000 MW of new nuclear capacity. The Swedish government proposed on May 28 (2026-05-28) taking a 60% ownership stake in Videberg Kraft AB — the project vehicle backed by Vattenfall and a 17-company industrial consortium that includes ABB, Volvo Group, and SSAB — with an initial capital injection of SEK 1.8 billion, approximately $194 million, according to Power Magazine. State ownership is designed to stay between 51% and 65% until commissioning, no later than 2045.4
Helen's 2039 target compresses permitting, technology selection, and project financing into roughly 13 years. No European SMR design has yet been commissioned. The company has not disclosed which reactor technology it plans to pursue or whether a technology partner is already in discussions. The more immediate test is whether the CHP cost argument survives detailed engineering review; the longer one is whether Finnish regulators can process a first-of-kind small reactor application quickly enough to make 2039 anything other than aspirational.6