Wilmington-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy will dismantle two reactors at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, according to an announcement Tuesday.

The company has been awarded a three-year contract involving an undisclosed amount by OKG AB to support the reactor dismantling at the Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant near Oskarshamn, Sweden. The announcement from GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) said the contract covers the segmentation of reactor pressure vessel internals for Oskarshamn Units 1 and 2.

The work, which will take place entirely in Sweden and not have an impact on Wilmington employment, will begin in January and continue through 2019, including dismantling, cutting and packing the reactor internals for final disposal, according to a news release. 

“We are pleased to support OKG AB by offering a decommissioning solution that leverages GE’s industrial strength and digital leadership,” said Jay Wileman, president and CEO of GEH, in Tuesday's announcement.

Oskarshamn Unit 1 is a boiling water reactor (BWR) that began operations in 1972 and is scheduled to cease operating in 2017. Unit 2, a BWR that began operating in 1974, closed in 2015, according to the release.

“This is a breakthrough project for us in the decommissioning space in Europe and we look forward to drawing upon the many resources of the ‘GE Store,’ including the depth of the global supply chains of GE and the former Alstom power businesses to deliver superior safety and cost efficient performance for our customer,” said Lance Hall, executive vice president, Nuclear Services, GEH, in the release.

GEH offers comprehensive decommissioning project expertise, including experience gained from reactor internals replacement projects in Japan and segmentation scope for Extended Power Uprate reactor internals replacement projects in the U.S, the release said.

A growing number of nuclear power plants will soon reach the end of their licensed operation and will require decommissioning, said GEH spokesman Jonathan Allen on Tuesday.

"We believe that serving customers during the post-operational phase of the nuclear power plant life cycle will have a positive impact on our business," Allen said.