Orlen assesses plan of launching first SMR reactor in 2030 as too ambitious

The target of launching the first small modular reactors SMR in 2030 may be too ambitious, Poland's largest energy concern Orlen's strategy and strategic project office's head Karol Wolff told a parliamentary subcommittee.

"In the strategic plans we were showing that one SMR would be built in 2030, but now we see that may have been a bit too ambitious. We are talking about the launching of the first SMR potentially around 2030, but before 2030 is certainly an ambitious deadline, given the Canadian project - that project we are following closely," said Wolff.

At the end of May, Orlen's CEO Ireneusz Fafara announced that he had started talks with partners about a new formula for cooperation on the SMR. At the time, he recalled that the group's strategy is to have one SMR in operation by 2030.

Orlen Synthos Green Energy plans to build a fleet of GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors in Poland.

In December 2023, Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment (MKiS) issued decisions in principle for the implementation of the investment in six locations: in addition to Stawy Monowskie, these are Wloclawek, Ostroleka, Dabrowa Gornicza, Krakow - Nowa Huta and Stalowa Wola - Tarnobrzeg.

BWRX-300 belongs to the boiling water reactor (BWR) family. At the same time, due to its relatively small power of 300 MWe, it is classified as a so-called SMR - small modular reactor. The first such reactor is to be built for OPG at the Darlington nuclear power plant in Canada. Another one, according to OSGE plans - is to be built in Poland by the end of the decade.

"As far as the application is concerned, the dedicated company that is to carry out the project has the first two locations identified - both are connected to industrial plants (...) at the Oswiecim plant, and in Wloclawek," said the head of strategy and strategic project department at Orlen.

"We are thinking from the first perspective of use for industry. Use in district heating would also be potentially attractive, but technologically there is still a need for district heating modules that would be able to exchange this heat in the right way with the district heating network," he added.

mcb/ doa/ nl/ ao/