Orlen said the deal covers two areas: new rules for the 50/50 joint venture Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) and a license granting OSGE full access to the American BWRX-300 “Standard Design,” enabling the process to construct Poland’s first SMR at a key Orlen location in Włocławek.
A special-purpose company controlled by Orlen will handle construction.
“The first Polish SMR nuclear power plant will be built in Włocławek. We are building the energy of tomorrow,” Orlen Chief Executive Ireneusz Fąfara said, adding that the supervisory board approved the agreement and that Orlen spent over a year negotiating terms to secure direct access to the technology.
Under the revised OSGE arrangements, Orlen and Synthos Green Energy will alternate every three years in appointing the venture’s CEO and the chair of the supervisory board. Orlen will name the first chair, while Synthos Green Energy will appoint the CEO. A new Steering Committee will oversee execution of the agreement and decisions concerning OSGE and special-purpose entities for additional reactors.
Orlen said the BWRX-300 reactor developed by GE Vernova is the most technologically advanced SMR project globally, placing OSGE—and Orlen—among pioneers of the technology.
The company’s strategy “Energy of Tomorrow Starts Today” foresees at least two SMR units totaling 0.6 GW by 2035.
PAP reported the agreement on Wednesday, citing unofficial information.
OSGE plans a fleet of BWRX-300 units in Poland, with initial sites named as Stawy Monowskie near Oświęcim, Włocławek and Ostrołęka, where environmental proceedings are under way.
In July, OSGE and Ontario Power Generation signed a letter of intent for services to support deployment and safe operation of SMRs in Poland, building on cooperation agreed in June 2023.
Orlen said its Włocławek site includes the Anwil plant producing nitrogen fertilizers and PVC. OSGE noted Synthos Green Energy is part of a wider group of more than 30 portfolio companies, with a mission to build BWRX-300 reactors as a zero-carbon, stable power source for households and industry.
The BWRX-300 is a boiling-water reactor with 300 MWe capacity; the first such unit is being built for OPG at Canada’s Darlington plant, scheduled for completion in 2028.
(jh)
Source: PAP