FORTUM POWER AND HEAT OY

Their core work

Fortum Power and Heat is the generation arm of Fortum, one of Finland's largest energy companies, operating nuclear, hydro, and thermal power plants. In H2020, they contribute real-world nuclear plant operational expertise to European safety research — particularly in severe accident management, safety assessment methodologies, and small modular reactor licensing. They also participate selectively in ocean energy, predictive maintenance for industrial assets, and lignin-based bio-materials, reflecting the breadth of their energy and heat production portfolio.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), Fortum's involvement was diversified: severe accident management for conventional reactors (IVMR), ocean wave energy (CEFOW), fusion research (EUROfusion), and predictive maintenance (MANTIS). From 2019 onward, their focus sharpened decisively toward nuclear safety engineering — specifically small modular reactor safety assessment (ELSMOR) and systematic benchmarking of safety engineering practices including probabilistic and deterministic methods (BESEP). This trajectory shows a company consolidating around next-generation nuclear safety as SMRs move closer to European deployment.

Fortum is positioning itself as a go-to industrial partner for SMR safety validation and licensing support in Europe, making them increasingly relevant as SMR deployment timelines accelerate.

How they like to work

Fortum never coordinates H2020 projects — they consistently join as a participant or third party, contributing operational expertise and real plant data rather than managing research programmes. With 305 unique partners across 31 countries, they operate within very large consortia (EUROfusion, MANTIS) as well as focused nuclear safety groups. This pattern indicates an organization that provides high-value industrial input to research consortia without seeking the administrative burden of coordination.

Fortum has collaborated with 305 unique partners across 31 countries, giving them one of the broadest networks among Finnish energy participants. Their connections span the European nuclear safety research community, major fusion programmes, and ocean energy developers.

What sets them apart

Fortum brings something most research partners cannot: actual nuclear plant operating experience from a utility that runs reactors in Finland. This makes them invaluable for projects that need to validate safety methods, codes, and engineering practices against real operational data rather than theoretical models. For consortium builders in nuclear safety or SMR licensing, Fortum bridges the gap between academic research and industrial reality.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BESEP
  Their largest funded project (EUR 302,422), benchmarking safety engineering practices across probabilistic and deterministic methods — a comprehensive safety methodology effort.
• ELSMOR
  Directly addresses European SMR licensing, a politically and commercially significant topic as multiple EU countries consider SMR deployment.
• IVMR
  Tackled severe accident melt retention for both existing and future nuclear plants — a critical safety challenge with direct regulatory implications.