GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), BWXT Canada and Poland's Synthos Green Energy (SGE) yesterday signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate in deploying BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in Poland. SGE, together with its partners, plans to deploy at least 10 BWRX-300 SMRs in Poland by the early 2030s.
The signing of the letter of intent at BWXT Canada’s Cambridge, Ontario headquarters (Image: GEH)Under the agreement, BWXT could manufacture a wide range of products including reactor pressure vessels, reactor internals and other key components. Orders for these products from BWXT Canada could be worth up to CAD1 billion (USD774 million) and result in the creation of hundreds of new jobs in Ontario.
SGE is targeting the first BWRX-300 in Poland to be operational in 2029 and to support that goal has established partnerships with PKN Orlen, the largest multi-energy corporation in Central and Eastern Europe, among others.
GEH is partnering with several Canadian firms as it builds a supply chain to support deployment of the BWRX-300.
"BWXT Canada is pleased to be expanding our cooperation with GEH to deploy their innovative SMR technology to Poland," said BWXT Canada President John MacQuarrie. "Our highly unique facilities and skilled workforce in Cambridge and at our other locations in Ontario are well suited to manufacture a variety of products for this advanced reactor."
GEH has also been selected by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) as the technology partner for the construction of new nuclear generating capacity at its Darlington plant. GEH is working with OPG to deploy a BWRX-300 at the Darlington site that could be complete as early as 2028.
OPG and SGE recently signed a collaboration agreement in which they agreed to explore mutually beneficial planning and preparation best practices for constructing an SMR, including supply chain development.
"OPG's decision to build a grid-scale SMR is extremely important not only for Canada and for us at Synthos Green Energy, but for the whole planet as it makes it possible to implement similar projects in Poland and around the world," said Synthos owner Michał Sołowow. "As Poland decommissions coal-fired sources, SMRs can play an essential role in deep decarbonisation and in meeting the energy needs of a growing economy. I look forward to Poland having a special position on the global map of SMR technology development."
"Canada is ready to lead the world in the deployment of small modular reactors and BWXT Canada is strongly positioned to support the deployment of our SMR technology in Canada and around the world," said GEH President and CEO Jay Wileman. "With rapidly growing global interest in the BWRX-300, GEH is poised to bring significant value to Canada through partners like SGE, benefitting Canada with high paying jobs for decades to come."
In 2019, Synthos Green Energy - part of the Synthos Group - signed a cooperation agreement with GEH for the construction of the BWRX-300 reactor in Poland. The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems, based on GEH's US-licensed, 1520 MWe Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor design. Synthos in October last year began a regulatory dialogue with the Polish National Atomic Energy Agency on the possibility of building the BWRX-300 in Poland, with the support of US utility Exelon Generation, GEH and Finland's Fortum Power and Heat Oy.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News