Westinghouse Electric, the technology supplier behind the first Polish nuclear power plant, has submitted a confidential IPO application in the United States. The company wants to use the current boom in investor interest in atomic energy, while it is still negotiating the construction contract for the facility in Choczewo.
The Pennsylvania-based company has not yet revealed how many shares it plans to offer or what price range it is considering. Last month Westinghouse also announced a partnership with the US Department of Energy aimed at strengthening the country’s commercial nuclear supply chain.
According to Reuters, investor enthusiasm for the nuclear sector has grown over the past year, largely because big technology companies are rapidly expanding data centers. Those facilities need a constant supply of electricity, and nuclear power is increasingly seen as a reliable source in the United States.
For years, speculative companies usually reached public markets through blank-check transactions. Now, as Reuters notes, firms from sectors such as nuclear energy and quantum computing have begun applying for traditional IPOs. Filing confidentially allows Westinghouse to keep its financial details secret until closer to the market debut and prepare outside the public spotlight.
Polish EPC contract still on the table
Mirosław Kowalik, who leads Westinghouse’s Polish branch, said negotiations with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe over the EPC contract are still underway. The agreement, which covers general construction of the first Polish nuclear plant, is being negotiated between the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium and the Polish investor.
– The sooner we sign this contract, the more confidently we can talk about the schedule, that is, the execution of key milestones for individual units – Kowalik said.
The Choczewo nuclear plant is expected to cost PLN 192 billion. It will be equipped with three AP1000 reactors supplied by Westinghouse, and commissioning is planned for the years 2036-2038.
A company with a long nuclear heritage
Westinghouse Electric is co-owned by Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners. It is one of the few remaining parts of the original business founded by George Westinghouse in 1886, the man who commercialized alternating current.
The company built the world’s first commercial pressurized water reactor in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957. According to Westinghouse, more than half of all nuclear reactors operating around the world use this technology.
After several rounds of restructuring and changes in ownership over recent decades, Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners bought the company in a deal valued at $7.9 billion in 2023.
Source: WNP.PL, Photo: LIVEK / Shutterstock
