Poland Forms Joint Venture to Build Six BWRX-300 Small Reactors

Recently, Polish green energy company SGE (formerly Synthos Green Energy) and power giant ZE PAK signed a cooperation agreement, announcing the establishment of a joint venture to jointly develop a nuclear power plant comprising up to six BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at Patnow in Poland, with a total installed capacity of 1,800 megawatts (1,800 MW).

It is understood that the proposed nuclear power project will directly repurpose ZE PAK's existing coal-fired power plant. ZE PAK will contribute the land rights to the site into the joint venture and will have a flexible option over the coming years——either to continue participating in project operations and maintenance as a minority shareholder, or to choose to sell its shares in the project company to SGE. As existing coal-fired units face shutdown, deploying SMR technology at the original Patnow site can seamlessly replace traditional fossil energy and prevent disruption to grid operations, and is regarded as an important demonstration project for Poland's energy transition.

In terms of commercial division of labor and strategic positioning, ZE PAK management pointed out that recent experience shows that large nuclear reactors are best led by state-owned enterprises, while small modular reactors are very well suited to be led by flexible private companies such as SGE. As a co-investor in GE Vernova Hitachi's BWRX-300 standard design, SGE is currently accelerating its SMR deployment across multiple locations in Europe, including a plan for 26 BWRX-300 units that has received principle approval in Poland, as well as a proposal for 14 SMRs under evaluation at three sites under the UK framework program.

It is reported that the world's first BWRX-300 reactor has already begun construction in Canada; the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a construction permit for a project at Clinch River in Tennessee; and the technology has been selected by Canada's SaskPower, the U.S. company Blue Energy, and Sweden's Studsvik for subsequent nuclear energy development projects. Industry analysis points out that the deployment of six SMR units at Patnow will not only inject momentum for green transition into Poland's Konin Region, but will also further consolidate the BWRX-300's leading position in the international small modular reactor market.