NND's Director of Operations, Pål Mikkelsen (left), received a coveted work helmet from IFE's Director Nils Morten Huseby during a commemoration at the Halden reactor in connection with the government's granting NND a concession to own and operate the plant. Photo: Jan Johannessen
Starting Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 1200 a.m., Norway will for the first time have two nuclear plant concessionaires.
“This is a historic day,” says Director of Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning Pål Mikkelsen.
Today, the King in the Council of State considered NND's application for a concession for the nuclear plant in Halden and decided to grant a concession to own and operate the plant. The plant has since it was established been owned and operated by the Department of Energy Engineering (IFE).
Since the late 1950s, researchers from around the world have associated Halden with the OECD research program Halden Project. World-unique research has been conducted at the nuclear reactor in the centre of Halden. Now the plant should be demolished in a safe and responsible manner. The mission, with demolishing, or decommissioning, the plant is given to the state agency NND.
Since 2018, NND has been working on planning, licensing applications and preparing its own organisation to take over responsibility for Norway's historic nuclear facilities. Today's decision is the first part of the state taking over responsibility for all facilities associated with Norway's historic nuclear research programme.
-Today we celebrate that we have reached an important milestone. At the same time, the work has just begun, and we have many exciting tasks ahead of us,” says Mikkelsen.
-Both NND and IFE will independently provide security at their respective facilities. At the same time, we will continue our close and good cooperation. Partly to help each other in general, but also to facilitate the successful transfer of nuclear plants in Lillestrøm and Aurskog-Høland when the time comes, Mikkelsen concludes.
