Fortum gets even bigger order for water purifier to be used at Fukushima plant

Finland's Fortum Corp. said this week that it has received an order from American Energy Solutions for ion-exchange materials that will be used to purify surrounding water at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Japan, which suffered a leak in 2011.

Fortum's ion-exchange product, Nures, can absorb radioactivity and can treat water that contains cobalt, strontium and caesium. Fortum said that once water is purified with its product, it is safe to be released into the water system.

The company has supplied ion-exchange materials for the Fukushima site since 2012 and for approximately 60 other global applications. The company said this is one of the largest orders it has ever received.

“Fortum’s ion-exchange materials effectively remove caesium and strontium from radioactive water. In addition to purification effectiveness, another advantage of the Fortum products is their cost efficiency. The amount of the product needed is very small compared to the volume of liquids to be purified,” Fortum Vice President of Power Solutions Heikki Andersson said.

Fortum specializes in the generation and distribution of electricity and heat through carbon-free means, including nuclear power. The company primarily operates in Nordic and Baltic countries, Poland and portions of the Russian Federation.