Polish companies SGE (formerly Synthos Green Energy) and ZE PAK have signed an agreement to establish PAK BWRX, a joint venture that will develop a nuclear power plant at Pątnów with six BWRX-300 small modular reactors. The planned total capacity is 1,800 MWe.
The plant will be built on the site of ZE PAK’s lignite-fired power station. The company’s contribution to the project consists of the rights to the land it already owns. In the coming years, ZE PAK may either remain as a minority partner or sell its shares to SGE and exit the venture. SGE founder Michał Sołowow signed the agreement together with ZE PAK chairman Piotr Żak.
The BWRX-300 is the boiling water reactor developed by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. SGE is a co-investor in the standard design of the model. In Poland it has already obtained a decision-in-principle covering a total of 26 units, and it is also looking to the United Kingdom, where a fleet of 14 reactors across three sites is being considered under the Advanced Nuclear Framework.
The Pątnów project responds to a concrete need. According to Sołowow, the lignite plant will have to close and, without a reliable replacement, its shutdown could create problems for the grid. The site is regarded as one of the most important in the Polish energy system. The idea is to reuse the area, with its grid connections and skilled workforce, for CO2-free generation. Pątnów is also among the locations named in Poland’s national nuclear programme.
The joint venture gives an operational structure to an understanding dating back a few years. At that time, Synthos and ZE PAK had signed an investment agreement to evaluate four to six BWRX-300 units at the same site. The number of units is now fixed at six, and a dedicated company has been created. Piotr Żak described it as a great opportunity for the Konin area, where the end of coal weighs on the local economy.
For Poland, which still depends heavily on coal, replacing a lignite plant with 300 MW nuclear modules is a model that could be replicated at other industrial sites being decommissioned. If the licensing process moves forward, Pątnów could become one of the first large European SMR plants built on a former fossil-fuel site.
