After years of announcements, the small modular reactor market is moving into concrete action. OSGE has applied for a support scheme for 14 BWRX-300 reactors in Poland, Synthos Green Energy plans to build a similar fleet in the UK, and Finland’s Steady Energy has received a crucial early signal from regulators for its heating-focused LDR-50 technology.
Orlen Synthos Green Energy, the joint venture between Orlen and Synthos, has submitted an application to Poland’s energy minister for a contract-for-difference mechanism to back the construction of 14 BWRX-300 reactors across three locations: Włocławek, Stawy Monowskie near Oświęcim, and Stalowa Wola. The project is the first phase of a broader programme aiming for 26 units. Meanwhile, SGE – Michał Sołowow’s Synthos Green Energy without Orlen but with industrial partners including Samsung C&T, Laing O’Rourke, Aecon Group, and Google Cloud – has unveiled plans to build 14 BWRX-300 reactors in the UK at an estimated value of GBP 35 billion, also based on a contract-for-difference model.
Finnish reactor passes early regulatory review
Steady Energy’s LDR-50 reactor is not designed primarily for electricity generation. It is a 50 MW thermal unit intended to supply low-carbon heat to district heating networks and industrial users. The project has undergone a joint early review by five nuclear regulators: Finland’s STUK, Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA), and the authorities of Sweden, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. The review, though non-binding and voluntary, found no fundamental barriers to the concept from the perspective of basic safety principles. STUK highlighted the strengths of passive safety systems and defence-in-depth. However, regulators stressed that further stages will require much more detailed analyses and documentation.
– This is a very encouraging result for Steady Energy. Our ambition is to bring LDR-50 to international markets, and the fact that the participating nuclear regulators did not identify fundamental obstacles to implementing this concept under their national safety requirements is a very positive signal – said Tommi Nyman, CEO of Steady Energy.
Poland’s nuclear regulator builds experience
The involvement of the PAA in the review is institutionally significant. Poland’s nuclear watchdog is not only monitoring SMR developments but also gaining practical experience in evaluating new reactor technologies. This matters because one potential bottleneck for SMRs is not the technology itself but the state’s capacity to license it competently and credibly. If Poland is to host several different SMR projects – for power generation, industry, and heating – the regulator will need to assess a variety of designs and scales.
– Our partners in the Polish heating sector are experts in heat, not necessarily in nuclear technology. That is why this review matters: even though preliminary, five independent regulators, including PAA, have seen no fundamental obstacles to a technology that could replace fossil fuels while maintaining stable heat supply – added Alice Neffe, Country Manager of Steady Energy for Poland.
Steady Energy is simultaneously building a full-scale non-nuclear pilot of the LDR-50 reactor at the former coal-fired Salmisaari plant in Helsinki. The pilot will use electric heaters instead of nuclear fuel to test key safety systems and operational behaviour before formal licensing.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe / Steady Energy
