Heating without carbon: The challenge
District-heating plants are the most efficient way to supply dense urban heat, but currently are heavily fossil-fuelled. This leaves households exposed to volatile gas prices and results in continued carbon emissions. The same applies for industrial heat.
A purpose-built solution
Finland-based Steady Energy is commercialising the LDR-50, a 50 MW-thermal nuclear small modular reactor (SMR) designed exclusively for heat generation. Operating at just 150 °C, it uses low pressure light water technology and fully passive safety systems. Construction of a full scale non-nuclear pilot plant inside one of Helsinki’s former coal plant begins later this year.
Why we invested: six core convictions
- A highly experienced team
Steady Energy is led by a highly experienced founding and management team. The company was spun out of VTT, Finland’s national research centre, and combines in-depth knowledge of reactor physics, thermohydraulics and nuclear licensing know-how. The founding team has worked together for years on the LDR-50 concept, turning research IP into supply-chain partnerships. - Momentum: nuclear renaissance
Europe’s Fit for 55 package, national carbon taxes and upcoming bans on fossil fuel boilers are pushing cities toward zero carbon heat sources. At the same time, attitudes toward nuclear energy are changing quickly. Governments across Europe and beyond are considering nuclear as a key part of the clean energy mix, supporting new build programs and simplifying the licensing process for small modular reactors. A new generation of safe, affordable and easy to deploy designs is gaining traction. Steady Energy is well placed to benefit from this renewed momentum and the growing recognition that nuclear heat can work alongside renewables to achieve full decarbonisation. - Leadership in heat-only segment
While most SMR developers pursue power or combined heat and power (CHP) designs, Steady Energy optimises for heat only. Eliminating turbines and high-pressure circuits reduces complexity, accelerates licensing and slashes capital cost. The company filed the world’s first dedicated nuclear-heat pre-licence in 2024 and has little competition at the same technology-readiness level. - A large, multi-segment market
District heating is the launchpad. Large amounts of heat flow through European district heating plants each year, with two-thirds still generated from fossil fuels. Beyond district heating, industry offers another large market as food, pulp-and-paper, chemicals and textiles together consume large amounts of low- and medium-temperature steam (<200 °C) annually in Europe. Further afield, the same low-pressure steam can drive desalinisation plants. Taken together, these segments represent a multi-billion euro addressable market for clean and steady heat. - A naturally scalable business model
Steady Energy’s business model is both capital-efficient and scalable, enabling a fast and repeatable rollout across Europe. Even before carbon pricing, the levelised cost of heat is projected to be competitive with biomass and, in many regions, cheaper than natural gas. And because the LDR-50 runs on standard light-water fuel, it avoids the cost and supply-chain complexity of advanced-fuel SMRs. - Gigaton-scale climate impact
District-heating plants currently emit approximately 160 Mt CO₂/year across the EU. Replacing just 5% of existing fossil-based capacity with LDR-50 modules would cut emissions by around 8 Mt CO₂ annually. Roughly equivalent to taking over four million ICE cars off European roads.
Looking ahead
Our capital will help Steady Energy complete and commission the non-nuclear pilot plant. This will be crucial in validating cost, performance, and seamless integration with existing district heating infrastructure. It will also enable the team to work with important suppliers for key components such as reactor vessels and fuel assemblies. At the same time, Steady will work to secure conditional agreements for its first commercial reactors.
Decarbonising heat is one of the largest untapped climate opportunities. With its elegantly simple design, experienced team and accelerating tailwinds, Steady Energy is poised to make zero-carbon warmth as ubiquitous as clean electricity.
We are thrilled to partner with the team on that mission!