UPDATE: Orlen Synthos Green Energy inks letter of intent with Canadian OPG on SMRs in Poland

Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) is the renewables SPV owned in half by Poland's largest energy concern Orlen and in the other half by Synthos concern belonging to Polish billionaire Michal Solowow. OSGE plans to build a fleet of GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors in Poland.

As announced on Monday by OSGE on X, the agreement paves the way for the Canadian company to provide OSGE with a range of services necessary for the implementation and subsequent safe operation of small modular BWRX-300 nuclear reactors in Poland.

"We want to create a framework for cooperation where OPG can share its expertise," vice-president of Darlington New Nuclear Project at OPG Jon Franke told the signing ceremony.

"No company can operate a nuclear reactor without the right experience. We can't do it on our own, we have to rely on an experienced operator, and who better than OPG, the company that is building the first such reactor in the world," said the deputy CEO of OSGE Jacek Drozd.

OSGE's deputy CEO Bartosz Fijalkowski added that the goal is to avoid possible mistakes in the Polish investment.

"We are moving towards ever broader cooperation. (...) On the Canadian side, this project has taken shape from an operational point of view since April this year, all procedures have been created, people are being hired, and project management is being launched. (...) This is invaluable knowledge for us so that we do not repeat mistakes. If we are to be second in the world and first in Europe with this technology, we must use this knowledge," Fijalkowski told reporters.

When asked if this means that OPG will become the operator of the first SMR unit in Poland, the deputy CEO replied: "The decision on who will be the operator has not yet been made. We have started talks and OPG is one of the potential partners. It has key experience".

The world's first BWRX-300 modular reactor is being built in Darlington, Canada.

The president of OPG Nicolle Butcher said the unit should be commissioned by the end of this decade.

According to the assumptions, the first SMR unit in Poland would be built in the early 2030s.

"The schedule has not changed, the first unit is to be launched in the early 2030s. (...) Construction should not take more than 36 months, which means that by 2028 at the latest, we should receive a building permit from the Polish regulator and start this nuclear part," said Bartosz Fijalkowski.

He pointed out that the first two SMR units would be built in Wloclawek, at the Anwil plant owned by the Orlen group. According to the Orlen's strategy, these two units would be launched before 2035.

"Preparatory work is underway," deputy CEO Fijalkowski reported.

He announced that the issue of cooperation between OSGE owners, Orlen and Synthos, should be clarified in the coming weeks.

"There is willingness on both sides, and it looks promising," said the deputy CEO, adding that the agreement will concern, among other things, the business model, the order of project implementation, financing.

Wojciech Wrochna, the government's representative for strategic energy infrastructure, announced during the signing ceremony that work will continue on preparing a framework for the development of nuclear energy at both the national and EU levels.

pel/ ao/