en.Wedoany.com Reported - The city of Włocławek, Poland, has signed an agreement with Orlen Synthos Green Energy to advance the construction of up to six small modular reactors. The project has initiated environmental impact assessments and site selection studies, will enhance public communication, and is expected to drive growth in energy supply, tax revenue, and employment.

Włocławek is one of six candidate sites selected by Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) in 2023 for further geological exploration to build a small modular reactor power plant based on General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy's (GEVH) BWRX-300 technology. OSGE holds exclusive rights to this technology in Poland. Other candidate sites include Ostrołęka, Stawy Monowskie, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Nowa Huta, and the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone.

In December 2023, Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment issued principle decisions for these six potential sites. In February 2025, the General Directorate for Environmental Protection published the scope of environmental reports for the proposed small modular reactor projects in Włocławek and Ostrołęka, enabling OSGE to initiate environmental and site selection studies at these two locations.

In August 2025, OSGE announced that Poland's first small modular reactor would be built in Włocławek.

The city of Włocławek and OSGE have now signed an agreement on cooperation for the construction of the BWRX-300 power plant. Under the agreement, the parties will collaborate on public communication, educational activities, and the exchange of information related to the investment process. The city will also establish a local information center to provide residents with access to reliable information about the project and nuclear energy.

OSGE is conducting preparatory work for the investment. The special purpose company BWRX-300 Włocławek sp. z o.o. has obtained a principle decision from the Ministry of Energy and a resolution from the General Directorate for Environmental Protection regarding the scope of the environmental impact report. Environmental assessments and site selection studies are fully underway, followed by the submission of a construction permit application.

Bartosz Fijałkowski, Vice President of the OSGE Management Board, stated that the Włocławek project is not only our primary investment in Poland but also the first small modular reactor in Europe. This is an advanced and proven technology, based on years of experience from our American partners, optimized for cost-effectiveness and implementation speed, and tailored to meet our industrial, grid, and decarbonization challenges. Cooperation with the local government in Włocławek is crucial to us, and we aim to advance the project transparently so that the local community and the entire region can benefit from it.

Krzysztof Kukucki, Mayor of Włocławek, said that this investment is a groundbreaking opportunity for Włocławek and the entire region. Modern nuclear energy not only ensures energy security, providing residents with stable and competitively priced electricity and heat, but will also provide development momentum, thereby enhancing the investment attractiveness of our city. We will be committed to advancing the project based on dialogue with the local community, fully respecting their needs and expectations.

OSGE stated that the agreement marks another step in implementing a modern, zero-carbon energy source that will ensure a stable supply of electricity and heat and strengthen the region's economic development. The company noted that a single BWRX-300 reactor could generate over 8 million Polish zloty (approximately 14.4 million RMB) in personal income tax, 80 million Polish zloty (approximately 140 million RMB) in corporate income tax, and over 360,000 Polish zloty in property tax annually. It could also directly create nearly 200 jobs and indirectly create hundreds more. High-energy-consumption projects such as data centers could also be built near the power plant, further enhancing the region's investment potential and contributing to job creation.

The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation small modular reactor with passive safety systems, leveraging the design and licensing basis of GEVH's ESBWR boiling water reactor design, which is certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the existing licensed GNF2 fuel design. GEVH states that this unique combination enables it to provide an innovative, carbon-free source of baseload power within this decade.

The province of Ontario, Canada, approved Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to begin construction of the first of four BWRX-300 small modular reactors at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site in May 2025, weeks after the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued a construction license. OPG plans to connect the first unit to the grid by the end of 2030. The Darlington project serves as a reference project for OSGE.