Keep our news free from ads and paywalls by making a donation to support our work!
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Synthos Green Energy (SGE), a firm owned by Poland’s richest man, Michał Sołowow, plans to build 14 small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in the UK as part of a £35 billion (175 billion zloty) project that involves GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Samsung C&T and Google Cloud.
Sołowow, who is also seeking to roll out SMR technology in Poland, says that the project aims to deliver “efficient, safe, affordable, and clean nuclear energy power at fleet scale”. His firm estimates the reactors would deliver enough power to meet 11% of the UK’s demand.
We are proud to announce our plans to develop 14 #BWRX300 small modular reactors across three sites in the #UK. Today, in London, SGE formally submitted its application under the UK’s Advanced Nuclear Framework (ANF) together with a proposal for a 4.2 GW fleet supported by a… pic.twitter.com/423DdwoJUN
— SGE (@SGE_Nuclear) July 2, 2026
SMRs, which are prefabricated in factories before being installed on site, are seen by their proponents as a fast and cost-effective way of installing nuclear capacity.
SGE aims to establish a fleet of 14 BWRX-300 reactors with a combined capacity of 4.2 gigawatts (GW) across three sites in the UK.
To advance the project, it has submitted an application under the British government’s Advanced Nuclear Framework, which supports the development and deployment of private nuclear projects.
The company said it plans to deploy under a contract for difference (CfD) framework, an agreement that guarantees a fixed price for electricity and helps shield developers from market swings.
SGE’s partners in the plans are GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Samsung C&T, Laing O’Rourke, Aecon Group Inc., Google Cloud, Fermi Development and Etara. The Polish firm also says the project will be supported by an “experienced nuclear operator”, though without identifying the company.
According to The Guardian, Sołowow hopes that Google Cloud will partner on a plan to invest up to £4.5 billion in datacentres to use the output from the SMRs.
Sołowow hailed the UK as home to one of the world’s most experienced nuclear workforces and said the British government had provided a clear path to market through the Advanced Nuclear Framework.
“Because of this, I am confident we will set a new standard for nuclear development,” he declared. “We will rely strongly on the UK supply chain…[and] our project will create a distinct competitive advantage for the UK economy.”
Almost 60% support the planned construction of nuclear small modular reactors in Poland
However, that figure falls to 45% when respondents are asked if they would want one built in their local area, although 56% would support it if it lowered energy bills https://t.co/GrVygHjpLA
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 26, 2023
In the most recent annual ranking of the richest Poles by the Wprost weekly, Sołowow was placed at number two, with an estimated net worth of 23 billion zloty (€5.36 billion).
The top spot was taken by Polish-American businessman Łukasz (or Luke) Nosek (net worth of 24 billion zloty), who left Poland as a child and whose business interests, including PayPal and SpaceX, are based in the United States.
Sołowow has also been pursuing the introduction of SMRs in Poland through Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), a joint venture between SGE and Polish state energy giant Orlen.
At the end of June, OSGE asked Poland’s energy minister to begin work on a support mechanism for a fleet of SMRs in the country. The company is seeking a contract for difference covering 14 BWRX-300 reactors at three sites in Poland. It ultimately plans to build up to 26 reactors in the country.
The BWRX-300 is a 300-megawatt water-cooled small modular reactor. Construction of the first unit began in Canada in 2025, with completion planned for 2029 and commercial operation expected in 2030.
Polish state energy firm Orlen has announced an agreement to build the country’s first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR).
It says Poland will be the first country in Europe to deploy an SMR developed by US-based firm GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy https://t.co/MPWXS3qZ1d
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) August 28, 2025
Poland, which currently has no nuclear power generation and produces over half of its electricity from coal, has in recent years launched ambitious plans to enter the sector. The former Law and Justice (PiS) government set a target of producing 23% of Poland’s electricity from nuclear by 2040.
The current government, which came to power in 2023, has pledged to continue developing nuclear. It has moved ahead with plans for construction of a first nuclear power plant (a traditional, large-scale one, not an SMR) on Poland’s northern Baltic coast.
However, last year, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power announced that it was withdrawing from plans to build another nuclear plant. It blamed the new government for not supporting the project – a claim that was denied by the energy minister.
Construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant is now set to begin after the @EU_Commission approved Warsaw’s request to allocate 60 billion zloty (€14.2 billion) in state aid for the project https://t.co/Z7BJpRRKnq
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 9, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: SGE press material
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
