The proposed financing was announced at a high-profile ceremony at the US embassy in Warsaw on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
In attendance were US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski and a group of American lawmakers, led by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee.
During the event, Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), a joint-venture between Orlen Group and a private Polish firm called Synthos Green Energy, signed letters of intent with America’s EXIM Bank and Development Finance Cooperation (DFC) on funding for the establishment of Poland’s first two nuclear stations that would feature the BWRX-300 small modular reactors, according to officials.
The BWRX-300 reactors are designed by the US-based company GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), the PAP news agency reported.
US offers USD 4 bn to build Poland’s first small nuclear reactors
Brzezinski told reporters: "Poland needs new energy solutions to protect itself from Russian influence, to meet climate commitments and drive economic development. GE Hitachi is a trusted partner that can provide such solutions."
Under the letters of intent, EXIM Bank pledged USD 3 billion and DFC 1 billion to help finance the project, the ambassador added.
Poland to launch first SMR in 2028/2029: Orlen CEO
The Orlen Group’s CEO Daniel Obajtek, who also attended Monday’s ceremony, said that Poland would be the second country in the world, after Canada, to build a small modular reactor, SMR.
Obajtek stated: “I believe this reactor will be launched in late 2028 or early 2029. It’s good news for the whole Polish economy. It’s a very fast pace.”
Obajtek also said that the plan to build SMRs did not mean Orlen would not build a full-scale nuclear reactor as well.
“Such nuclear energy facilities complement each other and can be built quickly,” he told reporters.
Obajtek argued that the involvement of government-funded US financial institutions proved that SMR technology “is feasible.”
He added that construction would begin “in two to three years,” and the whole project would feature “around 300 Polish companies.”
Polish banks have also expressed an interest in helping finance efforts to develop SMR reactors in Poland, according to PAP.
Among them are PKO BP, Bank Pekao SA, BGK and Santander Bank Polska, officials said.
Warsaw, Kraków, Ostrołęka among proposed sites for SMRs
The Orlen Group's Obajtek on Monday named the first provisional Polish sites for SMR reactors: "Warsaw, Włocławek, Ostrołęka, Stawy Monowskie, Kraków-Nowa Huta, Stalowa Wola-Tarnobrzeg and Dąbrowa Górnicza."
‘SMRs will provide Poland with stable, zero-emission energy’
Orlen’s joint-venture with Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), said in a statement that SMRs may become “an important part” of Poland’s energy transition and the new energy mix, by “supplying stable and zero-emission energy.”
OSGE added that the small nuclear reactors would “replace coal and satisfy the notable spike in demand for electricity that is expected in the coming decades.”
Meanwhile, OSGE’s CEO Rafal Kasprów noted that America’s EXIM Bank and DFC “are among the world’s key financial institutions” and their involvement in the project to build SMRs in Poland “demonstrates the immense importance of this project, not only for Poland, but also for the US government.”
The Orlen-Synthos Green Energy joint-venture (OSGE) is a company dedicated to deploying a fleet of GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 reactors in Poland.
Last month, Poland's Synthos Green Energy (SGA) signed a Technical Collaboration Agreement with the global nuclear company GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), as well as America’s Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Canada’s Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to advance the deployment of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).
Under the deal, SGA, TVA and OPG “will invest in the development of the BWRX-300 standard design and detailed design for key components,” according to a statement by the parties.
GE Hitachi has estimated that the standard design development will cost around USD 400 million, and “each contributor has agreed to fund a portion of GEH’s overall cost.”
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, CIRE