On 28 August 2025, ORLEN named Włocławek as the site for Poland’s first small modular reactor (SMR) and, together with Synthos, finalized the operating model for their joint venture ORLEN Synthos Green Energy (OSGE). The decision turns years of planning into a construction-facing program.

(Image: GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy)

1) From Pilot Site to Fleet Logic

• Technology: OSGE will deploy GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 (≈300 MWe), a natural-circulation, passively-safe boiling water SMR designed to simplify systems and compress schedules. 

• Scale: Poland has issued decisions-in-principle enabling up to 24 BWRX-300 units across six locations, including Włocławek and Ostrołęka. 

• Permitting: Environmental proceedings for multiple sites advanced in early 2025, preparing the ground for site selection and subsequent licensing. 

• Know-how Transfer: In July 2025, OSGE and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) signed an LOI to frame commercialization and operations, leveraging Canada’s Darlington experience where BWRX-300 construction is authorized and underway. 

• Financing Signals: The U.S. EXIM Bank and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation have issued LOIs indicating up to $4 billion in potential support; Polish and Canadian regulators also pledged deeper SMR cooperation. 

2) Why Włocławek: Industrial Coupling and System Value

Włocławek is a central-Poland industrial hub within ORLEN’s footprint. Siting the first unit here enables tight coupling with existing industrial loads (power/heat/hydrogen), reduces fossil exposure, and creates a replicable template for subsequent multi-unit rollouts. 

3) Complementing the Large-Reactor Track

SMRs are part of a dual-track strategy alongside Poland’s conventional nuclear build. In Pomerania (Lubiatowo-Kopalino), a Westinghouse–Bechtel consortium is developing three AP1000 units targeting early-2030s power. SMRs address rapid, modular deployment and industrial cogeneration; large reactors deliver bulk baseload. 

4) What to Watch—and What Could Go Wrong

Watch

1. First-of-a-kind learning: Cost/time reductions hinge on serial production and standardization across the planned 24-unit fleet. 

2. Transatlantic replication: Canadian licensing and construction provide a real-world reference class for Poland’s schedule and risk. 

3. Policy–finance alignment: Cross-border regulatory cooperation and concessional finance can compress risk premia. 

Risks

• Supply-chain congestion: With multiple countries chasing BWRX-300, long-lead nuclear-grade equipment and QA capacity may become bottlenecks. 

• Interface complexity: Aligning nuclear safety, industrial heat/hydrogen integration, and grid codes on a first-of-kind site requires robust owner-engineer capability and regulator coordination. 

• FOAK cost discipline: Until learning curves kick in, unit CAPEX and timelines remain exposed to variance. 

5) Indicative Timeline and Milestones

• Aug 2025: Site announced; JV operating model clarified. 

• 2025–2026: Complete environmental and site characterization; place long-lead orders; structure EPC frameworks. 

• 2027–2029: Major civil works and installation, benchmarking against Darlington’s experience (contingent on licensing/supply chain). 

• ~2030: Earliest plausible COD for the first unit if execution stays on track, enabling rolling starts for follow-on units. 

Włocławek signals Poland’s pivot from pipeline to project execution. If the first BWRX-300 lands on time and on budget, Poland could establish a European template for fleet-based SMR deployment—standardized design, transatlantic know-how, and finance/regulatory alignment.