Decommissioning the nuclear reactors in Halden and Kjeller - how should we do it?

The decommissioning and reuse cluster was presented during the second day of Arendal Week.

The DECOM cluster, which is run by Smart Innovation Norway in close cooperation with, among others, the Institute for Energy Technology, Halden Municipality and Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning, will become a Norwegian power and knowledge center for decommissioning.


Smart decommissioning

The cluster was presented during Arendalsuka, and cluster leader Nicholas Richards from Smart Innovation stated, among other things, that there is a great need in Norwegian business and industry for the expertise that the cluster will help to acquire, gather, utilize and develop.

- Many countries have been decommissioning their nuclear facilities for a long time already, so Norway cannot wait any longer to get on board.

- The opportunities for Norwegian industry are linked to technical and smart ways of decommissioning. These are options we need to look at when working on this. We also have a large network that is relevant for the development of jobs in decommissioning, said Bjørn Axel Gran and Thomas Norlander from IFE.


Contributing to community development

Halden Municipality was represented at the presentation by Åsmund Bråtekas, who pointed out the potential of public procurement regulations. He also saw great opportunities for growth.

- It is important for Halden to create an attractive host municipality and contribute to community development," he said.

Part of community development is to facilitate that the work done in Halden can be transferred to other municipalities to create business and facilitation in more places.


Political attention

MP Solveig Østby Vitanza (Ap) praised the high academic level in her home town.

- Halden has enormous expertise and is in an excellent position to export both the expertise and the technology," she pointed out during the presentation.

Overarching the cluster's work is the importance of being specific about how the technology can be applied in decommissioning, but also in other relevant areas such as fire and rescue.


Arendalsuka 2022
PARTNERS: From left: Levente Nyusti (IFE), Petter Leira (IFE), Bjørn Axel Gran (IFE), Solveig Østby Vitanza (MP for Ap), Nicholas Richards (Smart Innovation Norway), Martin Andreasson (NND) and István Szőke (IFE). Halden municipality also participated in the presentation of the DECOM cluster. PHOTO: Kjell Reidar Mydske


Arendalsuka 2022