About us
The Academic Industrial Nuclear Technology Initiative (ANitA) is a competence centre that brings together industrial and academic expertise in nuclear technology. Through interdisciplinary research and development, ANItA's mission is to generate knowledge-based decision support for efficient and safe implementation of small modular reactors (SMRs) to contribute to Sweden's ambition to become a completely fossil-free nation.
ANItA:s vision
The welfare society’s ability to create and support good health, peace, and sustainability in all its aspects, is undeniable. Such welfare societies are underpinned by an adequate energy supply. However, the basis for most current welfare societies is the utilisation of fossil fuel, which creates highly unwanted effects such as health degradation, environmental issues, and an increasing global temperature. These negative consequences affect not only welfare countries but also, through various mechanisms and to a greater extent, the poor countries of the world. These considerations lend themselves to the formulation of a vision where research shall be a determining factor for promoting a future where:
- the economic basis for supporting the Swedish welfare society is secured,
- Sweden, using rational means, constructively participates in the quest to create a global welfare society,
- knowledge, technology, ability, and economical prerequisites for combating global climate change is fully developed,
- useful energy, from a lifecycle perspective, is generated with as small environmental footprints as possible. In such a way, maximum biodiversity is achieved and pristine wilderness, nationally as well as internationally, is preserved as far as possible.
ANItA has a determining role to play in this vision. During the first five years of its existence, ANItA will be under development and the first general results will emerge. During the next five years, ANItA is consolidated and redirects its efforts towards the implementation stage of the first SMR units in Sweden. The years after that, ANItA functions as a provider of competences and act as a de facto technical support organisation in Sweden.
ANItA in numbers
- 5 years: the competence center project ongoing through 2022-2026
- 81 MSEK total budget
- 5 partner companies
- 3 universities
- 14 projects
ANItA:s management
Program council:
- Ane Håkansson, Uppsala universitet, head of the center
- Agneta Rising, president of the council
- Saida Engström, Vattenfall, member
- Sophie Grape, Uppsala universitet, member
- Jani Halinen, Fortum, member
- Kyle Johnson, Studsvik Nuclear, member
- Mats Jonsson, KTH, member
- Lena Oliver, Westinghouse, member
- Teodora Retegan Vollmer, Chalmers, member
- Mats Yngvesson, Uniper, member
Observers:
- Cheuk Lau, Radiation Safety Authority in Sweden (SSM)
- Aapo Tanskanen, Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland (STUK)
- Martina Sturek, Women in Nuclear
- Pierre-Jean Rigole, Energimyndigheten
What are Small Modular Reactors?
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a collective name for some seventy different reactor designs. Common to these is that they generate up to about 300 MW of electrical power, i.e. about a quarter of modern large reactors. They are also relatively physically small and can be placed close to consumers.
A basic idea of SMRs is that they should be factory manufactured and type approved. This shortens the time it takes to get these reactors into operation. Through type approval and a high degree of standardization, SMRs are expected to receive a relatively low price.
In addition to electricity production, SMRs can be used for other purposes such as district heating in cities, process steam for industry and efficient hydrogen production.
Within ANItA, we focus our operations on SMRs of the so-called light water type, which are based on similar technology to today's reactors. The reason for this is that these concepts are now close to market and can technically be quickly implemented.
These reactors are equipped with highly efficient passive safety systems based on simple physical principles and mean that no external power supply is necessary or that active measures are required from operators to shut down the reactors in the event that an undesirable operating mode is initiated. Furthermore, these reactors can quite easily be located underground or in caverns to achieve a high level of protection against external influences.