New SANE Project Leader
Publish date: 09/01/2025
Dr. Silja Häkkinen, a reactor physics expert from VTT, has driven innovations in SMRs, advanced fuel cycles, and spent fuel management since 2009. As the leader of the EcoSMR project and contributor to EURAD initiatives, her work bridges national and EU-funded projects. Now, Silja leads the SANE project into an exciting new chapter.
About Silja Häkkinen
Dr. Silja Häkkinen has been a driving force at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland since 2009, specializing in reactor physics. Her expertise spans a range of critical topics, including spent fuel management, small modular reactors (SMRs), advanced fuel cycles, criticality safety, radiation transport modeling, and group constant generation. Silja’s passion and dedication have positioned her as a key contributor to the field of nuclear energy, with a particular focus on sustainable and innovative technologies.
Driving Innovation in Small Modular Reactors
From 2020 to 2022, Dr. Häkkinen managed the EcoSMR project, a national initiative funded by Business Finland, VTT, and several industry partners. The project aimed to empower Finnish companies to play a significant role in the emerging SMR market, with a strong emphasis on heat utilization from SMRs. This groundbreaking work has paved the way for Finland's active participation in SMR development globally. Silja has also been deeply involved in the LDR-50 district heating reactor project for Steady Energy, as well as the SMRSiMa project focusing on SMR waste management. These efforts were conducted under the national SAFER2028 research program and its predecessor, KYT2022.
Leadership and Research Contributions
Since 2021, Silja has served as the Team Leader of the Reactor Analysis group at VTT. Her leadership extends to several national and international projects, showcasing her ability to bridge technical innovation with strategic vision. Key highlights of her career include:
EU-Funded Projects:
Task leader in the PuMMA project on plutonium management in GENIV reactors.
Active contributor to EURAD, focusing on spent fuel characterization and disposal evolution.
Deputy work package leader in EURAD-2, addressing post-closure criticality safety.
National Projects
Project manager of EcoSMR, coordinating efforts between 12 partner organizations.
Leading a national project on spent fuel characterization under the KYT nuclear waste management program.
Involvement in SMR waste management initiatives under SAFER2028.
We are excited to work with Silja as we navigate this new chapter and pursue significant advancements in non-nuclear applications together! At the same time, we would like to thank Ville for his tremendous effort and dedication he invested in launching SANE. His skill in managing the initial complexities has laid a solid foundation for a successful journey!