Orlen Synthos Green Energy expects first concrete for SMR to be poured in 2028

"Our aspiration is to guide the process (...) in such a way that when it is close to start-up in Canada, we can already start thinking about pouring the first concrete. This is the horizon of 2028, according to today's assessments by Canadian colleagues, when they should reach this phase with this project," Cieplinski told the European Economic Congress in Katowice.

"Once the Canadian project gets close to its launch, i.e. loading the fuel and starting up the reactor, we expect to have the documentation, including the preliminary safety report, closed enough to be able to start discussions with the PAA around that document and precede that with the submission of the application for the construction permit," he added.

As the head of OSGE's strategy and development department assessed, the SMRs project in Poland could represent an opportunity for the Polish industry. OSGE assumes that local content could ultimately reach over 50 percent.

"If we are talking about the construction of dozens of units, this means building the potential for the industry to carry out dozens of such projects," he pointed out.

Orlen Synthos Green Energy is a company in which Orlen and the Synthos concern, owned by Michał Solowow, each have a half share. OSGE plans to build a fleet of GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors in Poland.

The BWRX-300 of GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's design is a member of 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 world's first BWRX-300 modular reactor is being built in Darlington, Canada

pel/ ao/