Poland's SGE Advances Plan to Build 14 BWRX-300 SMRs in the UK

Polish energy development company SGE (formerly Synthos Green Energy) is advancing a project to deploy a reactor fleet consisting of 14 BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in the UK. The project joint team stated that it has full confidence in the commercial economic model and the complete supply chain delivery capability of the plan.

SGE formally submitted its project application in July under the UK's “Advanced Nuclear Framework”. The fleet's total planned installed capacity reaches 4.2 gigawatts (GW), equivalent to 11% of the UK's current total electricity demand. SGE has formed an engineering and technology alliance that includes Samsung C&T, Laing O'Rourke, Aecon Group, and Google Cloud, and plans to deploy BWRX-300 small reactors developed by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy at three planned sites in the UK through fully private financing. According to the engineering schedule, the first site will host 6 units of 300 megawatts each, while the subsequent two sites will each have 4 units. The specific site selections will be announced after final commercial negotiations are concluded.

Regarding the commercial financing and risk-sharing mechanism, SGE Chief Executive Officer Rafał Kasprów stated that the project will not require the UK government to bear the upfront engineering costs during the development and construction phases. Instead, it seeks a long-term “Contract for Difference” (CfD) support mechanism for the entire reactor fleet, with the difference settlement activated only after the units are formally connected to the grid and delivering zero-carbon electricity. The Contract for Difference achieves long-term revenue risk stabilization through a preset strike price, a mechanism that was applied to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Currently, the project is in the deep dive assessment stage of the UK's Advanced Nuclear Framework, expected to conclude in October or November this year and be included in the implementation pathway.

In response to external concerns about supply chain bottlenecks and the possibility that large nuclear projects (such as Sizewell C) could squeeze the industry workforce, the project team offered a clear rebuttal. Business Development Director Robert Rudich pointed out that the BWRX-300 reactor is based on a mature nuclear-grade technology pathway and the in-service GNF2 nuclear fuel, and that the conventional island portion of the plant is highly similar to traditional thermal power and industrial cogeneration facilities. More critically, entering the market directly with a “fleet-scale order” of 14 units can provide clear expectations of scaled investment returns and momentum for capacity expansion to supporting enterprises across the entire European supply chain.

The BWRX-300 is a 300-megawatt-class water-cooled, natural circulation small boiling water reactor jointly developed by GE Vernova and Hitachi. It inherits the design basis of the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR), which has been reviewed and certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and adopts passive safety systems. Currently, the world's first commercial BWRX-300 unit has begun full-scale construction at Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Darlington site in Canada, and is expected to be completed and put into operation in the late 2020s. The progress of this demonstration project also provides key engineering and licensing reference basis for SGE's batch replication in the UK and US markets.