Poland has been intensively working on developing its own nuclear power production over the last decade, but Polish research in nuclear technologies spans more than 70 years. In 1955, the Polish Academy of Sciences opened the Nuclear Research Institute in Świerk near Warsaw. The first reactor, named Ewa, was launched in 1958 and operated for 37 years alongside a few others. The last reactor, started in 1974, is still operational today, producing radio-pharmaceuticals. It fulfills 10% of the global demand for molybdenum-99 and 100% of Poland’s domestic demand for iodine-131. This reactor is named Maria in honor of the renowned Polish scientist Marie Skłodowska-Curie.
Polish scientists and engineers in the latter half of the 20th century were prepared to develop a domestic nuclear power industry, even though economic and political circumstances were challenging. In the 1970s, the government decided to build the first nuclear power plant, Żarnowiec, with a capacity of 1,600 MW near Lake Żarnowieckie, just a few kilometers from the Baltic coast, and later a second plant, Warta, with a capacity of 4,000 MW in northwestern Poland. Construction of Żarnowiec began in 1982 but was abandoned in 1990 due to a severe economic crisis caused by post-Soviet political transformations, industrial decline across Central and Eastern Europe, and social unrest following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The Warta project was also canceled.
In the early 21st century, after substantial improvements in Poland’s economy and industrial capacity, decision-makers revisited the idea of a nuclear industry. In 2005, the government adopted “The Nuclear Policy of Poland 2025,” and in the following years, it announced the construction of two nuclear power plants, established a target company, and adopted “The Polish Nuclear Power Program.” After lengthy discussions and procedural hurdles, as well as some political upheavals and economic setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, two nuclear projects involving foreign partners were finally initiated at entirely new sites.
On October 10, 2022, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (KHNP) signed a letter of intent with PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. and ZE PAK S.A. to construct an APR1400 power plant in Pątnów, central Poland. KHNP operates 24 nuclear plants with a total output of 22.4 GW in South Korea. Construction is expected to begin in 2030, with the first reactor set to launch by 2036. In 2023, the project obtained the Climate Ministry’s decision in principle, and a feasibility study is now in progress, albeit delayed by some geographical, technological, and legal challenges.
On December 16, 2022, Westinghouse Electric Company signed a cooperation agreement with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe Sp. z o.o. to build an AP1000 nuclear plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site near the Baltic coast. Construction is slated to run from 2026 to 2033. To date, Westinghouse has produced over 440 nuclear reactors with a total output of 368 GW in the U.S. and 17 other countries. The AP1000, certified in the United States in 2012, is an advanced technology; four such reactors are under construction in the U.S. and China, one is planned in Bulgaria, and Poland will have three reactors totaling 3,750 MW.
On September 21, 2023, Westinghouse signed a consortium agreement with Bechtel Corporation to complete the plant’s construction. Bechtel is a U.S.-based engineering, procurement, and construction firm that has built 390 power plants, 50 hydroelectric plants, and over 17,200 miles of roads worldwide. It has also worked on nearly 500 projects across railroads, harbors, and airports. On September 27, 2023, the consortium and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) signed the Engineering Services Contract for the Lubiatowo-Kopalino power plant in the presence of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski.
In May 2024, geological surveys were conducted on-site, and Bechtel signed a letter of intent with Gdańsk University of Technology for cooperation in research, engineering, and management. At the same time, Westinghouse contracted Polish company Budimex S.A. for construction, and its subsidiary Mostostal Kraków for the production and assembly of steel structures and large modules. Budimex, Poland’s largest construction company, has a portfolio that includes numerous power projects in Poland and Lithuania, sections of the Baltic Pipe, Gdańsk Airport, Warsaw West railway station, and the Baltic Hub container port.
In August 2024, the General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) announced a tender for the construction of a 27-km road to connect the S6 expressway to the future power plant by 2028. Environmental studies have been conducted, and applications for environmental approval have been submitted. New railways to the plant will also be constructed to accommodate 160 km/h passenger trains and 120 km/h cargo trains, for which environmental approval was granted in September. In October, PEJ and Budimex signed a contract for the construction of a technical road to the Marine Off-Loading Facility (MOLF), enabling the transport of over 200 essential components to the construction site. The road is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
The construction of the first nuclear power plant is supported by the Polish government, which has pledged zł 60 billion ($14 billion) to fund the project from 2025 to 2033, with zł 4.6 billion ($1.1 billion) allocated for the following year. Following this commitment, on September 27, 2024, Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman visited the construction site to review the progress and meet Polish President Andrzej Duda. Fragman also expressed interest in building at least one more nuclear plant in Poland, equipped with three AP1000 reactors.
Traditional nuclear technology, however, is not Poland’s only focus. In March 2023, Orlen Synthos Green Energy, a subsidiary of the state-owned giant Orlen S.A., signed a contract with U.S.-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to construct BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) at a cost exceeding $400 million. This revolutionary technology, which has not yet been deployed globally but has strong backing from the U.S. government, produces about four times less energy than a traditional reactor but is cheaper and about ten times smaller. SMRs can be rapidly assembled on-site, as opposed to traditional reactors that require years to construct.
Currently, only a few countries are developing SMR projects, while about 30 others have expressed interest. The first Hitachi SMR is expected to go online in Darlington, Canada, in 2028, with an additional seven planned for deployment in Poland, starting in 2030. Construction has already begun in Canada. Orlen Synthos and GE Hitachi have signed a cooperation agreement with Aecon Group Inc. and AtkinsRéalis, which are responsible for building the Canadian SMR. Another Polish company, Świętokrzyska Industrial Group ‘Industria,’ is also prepared to implement this technology in Central Hydrogen Valley in partnership with Rolls-Royce SMR. To this end, Industria signed a letter of intent with the U.K.-based investment fund Chiltern Vital Group.
