European Investment Bank to invest €40 million in Finnish small modular reactor company Steady Energy

The European Investment Bank will invest up to €40 million (about $46 million) in Finnish small modular reactor company Steady Energy. The company's LDR-50 reactor is specifically designed for district heating networks, and this is also the European Investment Bank's first investment in small modular reactor technology.

The European Investment Bank is jointly owned by the 27 EU member states, and these member states do not have a consistent attitude toward nuclear energy. In the past, the bank usually avoided new nuclear power projects and invested only in projects related to nuclear safety, such as Chernobyl-related projects. However, over the past year or so, the European Investment Bank has provided loans for the refurbishment project of a reactor in Romania, as well as for the expansion project of the Georges Besse II uranium enrichment plant in Tricastin in southern France.

This funding will be used to support Steady Energy's research and development, testing, and licensing activities, helping the company move toward commercial development. The related support will cover activities from this year through 2028.

European Investment Bank Group Vice-President Karl Nehammer said that support for Steady Energy is a landmark case showing how the European Investment Bank Group supports innovation to strengthen Europe's competitiveness, enhance energy autonomy, and expand access to affordable clean energy. He said the European Investment Bank is actively looking for Europe's most promising small modular reactor pioneers; small modular reactors can provide stable low-carbon energy beyond renewable energy, helping to build a safer and more resilient European energy structure and reduce dependence on fossil fuels and exposure to energy price volatility.

Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman said that more than 40% of final energy demand comes from heat, and most of the heat people consume still comes from fossil fuels. With Steady Energy's solution, Europe can further reduce its dependence on imported fuels. He said the company is very pleased that the European Investment Bank has decided to provide support, because Steady Energy is advancing the implementation of its first concrete projects in the coming years.

The European Investment Bank's investment takes the form of a senior unsecured convertible loan, which gives it the option in the future to convert the investment into listed shares. The bank said this investment is in line with the European Commission's strategy to bring Europe's first small modular reactors online in the early 2030s. The European Investment Bank said it adopts a technology-neutral approach, in line with EU decarbonization goals and with the objectives of ensuring energy supply security and competitiveness in an environmentally sustainable, cost-effective, efficient, safe, and socially acceptable way.

Throughout 2025, the European Investment Bank approved €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for 870 projects, covering eight core priorities supporting EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalization and technological innovation, security and defense, regional cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships, and the savings and investment union.

Steady Energy was spun off from Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre in 2023. Its LDR-50 small modular reactor has a thermal power of 50 megawatts and is designed to operate at about 150 degrees Celsius. Unlike most small modular reactors under development worldwide, the LDR-50 is not used for power generation or combined heat and power, but produces only heat, with a focus on district heating, while also targeting industrial steam production and seawater desalination projects.

The company has already signed agreements for 15 reactors in Finland, and its reactor design is currently being evaluated by Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK. In June 2025, STUK said that the draft conceptual assessment of Steady Energy's LDR-50 found that its nuclear and radiation safety, security arrangements, emergency arrangements, and nuclear material safeguards plans can all be designed to meet safety requirements. The company aims to start construction of its first plant in 2029 to provide clean energy for a district heating project.