A joint special purpose vehicle, PGE PAK Energia Jadrowa SA (PPEJ), has been set up by Polish public company ZE PAK (Zespól Elektrowni Patnów-Adam-Konin SA) and Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) – both Treasury owned – to implement the project to construct a NPP in Patnów in central Poland. The plant will comprise two APR1400 reactors supplied by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). The company was established just five months after the letter of intent was signed Seoul between PGE, ZE PAK and KHNP. PGE and ZE PAK will each own 50% of the shares in PGE PAK Energia Nuclear, which will secure the interest of the Polish Treasury in the project.
This project is developing in parallel with Poland’s official nuclear power programme. In October, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that the US firm Westinghouse had been selected for the first part of the country's six-reactor plan to build up to 9 GWe of capacity by 2040. The letter of intent about the Patnów plant says the Korean agreement "is a new project to supplement the existing Polish government-led nuclear power plant plan".
Based on the preliminary analyses, it was estimated that at least two APR1400 reactors with a total capacity of 2800 MWe could be considered. These could supply about 12% of current energy demand in Poland, with the first unit starting operation in 2035.
PPEJ will prepare a feasibility study, undertake site research, and prepare an environmental impact assessment for the planned NPP.
It will also represent the Polish side in all stages of the project. These include siting and environmental assessments, obtaining financing and preparing a detailed investment schedule with the Korean side, as well as in the subsequent stages of obtaining permits and making administrative decisions.
The PPEJ Supervisory Board will include 12 members – six from each shareholder. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board will be Ze Pak’s Zygmunt Solorz and the Vice President PGE’s Wojciech Dabrowski. The company's headquarters is in Konin.
Jacek Sasin, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of State Assets, said: “Energy independence is the basis of our security. That is why the Polish government is developing the Polish Nuclear Power Programme…. The power plant, whose construction is planned by Polish companies PGE and ZE PAK together with a Korean partner, will complement this programme. The incorporation of a joint company by PGE and ZE PAK is another step in the realisation of this project. It will be a direct partner of KHNP in the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Konin region. Despite the fact it is a business project, it has the full support of the Polish government. I am confident that its implementation will contribute to reinforcing Poland’s energy security and independence, as well as strengthening our position on the international arena.”
ZE PAK Chairman Zygmunt Solorz said the company representing PGE and ZE PAK from “will automatically take over all tasks related to preparation for this investment and conduct ongoing cooperation with our Korean partners from KHNP”. PGE Board President Wojciech Dabrowski said, with the support of state authorities as well as local authorities, institutions, offices and bodies responsible for issuing appropriate approvals, permits and decisions, launching the first unit of the NPP “is possible in the middle of the next decade”.
There is, however, continuing uncertainty arising from the efforts of Westinghouse to impeded Korean nuclear exports. Westinghouse in October 2022 alleged that Korea’s APR1400 reactors were copied the System 80 reactor designed by Combustion Engineering, which was acquired by Westinghouse in 2000. The litigation was a move by Westinghouse to stop the Korean companies from selling reactors to Poland, which was then evaluating offers from Westinghouse, KHNP and France’s EDF to supply its first commercial NPP. Although Westinghouse won that tender from state-owned Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe for its AP1000 technology, Korea subsequently signed the agreement with ZE PAK and PGE.
Westinghouse insists that the Korean companies are using its technologies and so they need to obtain the approval of the US government before exporting them to a third country. Korea insists that, while early development of its reactor technology was supported by Westinghouse, the current models it is seeking to export were developed using its own technologies and are not subject to US restrictions. KHNP says the company has developed original reactor technology over the past 30 years and now owns the intellectual property rights to its nuclear power plant technology.
Image Credit: Poland's Ministry of State Assets