Henri is working to build a new nuclear power plant in Finland

At what company and with what are you working at the moment?

I am working in Fennovoima Oy which is a nuclear new-build company in Finland - we are building a new nuclear power plant in Hanhikivi peninsula in central Finland to supply clean, zero-emission energy to our owners and customers. My job involves overseeing management and coordination of project specific design documents and procedures, development, supervision and coordination with our plant supplier.

Have you worked with anything else since you graduated?

After graduation I did an internship in Westinghouse Electric Company in their R&D Department in Pittsburgh, PA, US where I worked with Small Modular Reactor (SMR) safety and probabilistic risk analysis. After that I moved to Finland and worked for more than four years in an international consulting company, Pöyry, in their Nuclear Power Division as Technical Consultant and Project Coordinator. Since April 2012, I have also worked as a Quality Manager of the division and also had other roles and responsibilities in different projects from technical consultancy to project management and quality control.

Why did you choose this programme at KTH?

I was really interested in Nuclear Energy and I had learnt that KTH had a new programme in Nuclear Engineering that had started in 2007. At the same time, Estonian Energy (a national utility) was looking into options for implementing nuclear energy in Estonia, and was ready to give out scholarships and support students' studies abroad in the nuclear field - putting those two things together, I was lucky to be chosen to start my studies in KTH - one of the highly respected universities in the Nordic region. (Note! Currently in Estonia there is no nuclear power nor related education programme.)

Did you get any insights that have been particularly useful in your career?

In the two-year master’s programme, I acquired in-depth knowledge and a very strong background in nuclear engineering, physics, safety, etc. which has been an enormous support on my journey to become a professional in the nuclear industry. 

What are the important aspects of a professional career development?

It is very important to give of yourself that little bit extra. Not just to do the job but to be the advocate of the industry, to have the will to improve and move things forward. And there is so-called volunteer work in different organisations. I have been an active member of the Finnish Nuclear Society (FNS) for over 7 years. I was president of FNS Young Generation in 2015. And the Finnish country representative at the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC) for 4 years. After that I became Secretary of International Affairs of FNS and I have represented FNS in the European Nuclear Society (ENS) since 2016 where I am currently acting Vice-President and a member of the board.

What are your plans for the future?

Currently, I’m focussing on building new nuclear power plants in Finland, thus building a better and cleaner environment to live in. In the future I want to bring nuclear power to Estonia, to my home country, to decarbonise the energy sector, to meet the climate targets and to not be dependent on energy imports thereby guaranteeing the security of supply. For that, the first important steps have already been taken and we have established a new start-up called Fermi Energia with the goal of establishing a nuclear power programme in Estonia.

What would you say to a student thinking of applying for this programme?

Without nuclear energy the decarbonisation of the energy sector is not really achievable. Nuclear energy is part of the future, so take the opportunity to learn, innovate and create a better world to live in! Dream big and do not be afraid to take the action towards achieving your goals!