Rolls-Royce SMR welcomed the announcement by Polish industrial group, Industria (part of Industrial Development Agency JSC), that they have received the final government opinion required to progress the approval of an application for a Decision in Principle to build Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power plants in Poland.
A Decision in Principle is the first step towards deployment and requires opinions from several separate government departments. Polish Minister of Climate & Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, has returned the final opinion required. This followed confirmation by the Polish Minister of State Assets in February, the Chief of the Polish Internal Security Agency in April and also from Poland’s Chief Geologist that the investment would have a “positive impact”. The Polish Minister of Climate & Environment now has all the documentation required to issue a Decision in Principle to deploy Rolls-Royce SMRs in Poland.
Alan Woods, Rolls-Royce SMR’s Director of Strategy & Business Development, said: “We are delighted the Polish Government has concluded that the deployment of our unique ‘factory-built’ nuclear power plants would have a positive impact for the country, and we look forward to a Decision in Principle to deploy Rolls-Royce SMRs in Poland.” Rolls-Royce SMR is currently completing Step 2 of Generic Design Assessment by the UK nuclear industry’s independent regulators.
In 2023, state-owned Industria selected Rolls-Royce SMR technology to fulfil the zero-emission energy goals of the Central Hydrogen Cluster in Poland as part of their plans to produce 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen every year. Industria applied for a Decision in Principle in December to Hennig-Kloska.
Industria Management Board President Szczepan Ruman said the positive opinion from the Internal Security Agency “is a very important document for us, not only because it is the last opinion we have been waiting for and the Minister of Climate & Environment has complete documentation to decide on issuing the Decision in Principle”. He added: “The positive opinion from the Internal Security Agency is important for us primarily because in this opinion, the agency – responsible for the internal security of the state, as well as for supervising the energy sector – confirms that our planned investment has a positive impact on the security of the Republic of Poland."
He said that with the Central Hydrogen Cluster he hoped "it will be possible to build a significant order portfolio from several entities for SMR units using Rolls-Royce technology, giving the Polish side a strong position in negotiations on the delivery terms of individual units, as well as, above all, in terms of the participation of the Polish industry in a supply chain for RR SMRs and thus the creation of attractive jobs in Poland".
In March, Industria also signed a letter of intent with the UK Chiltern Vital Group (CVG). With other partners – including Western Gateway, SGSC, University of Bristol, Vital Energi and Rolls-Royce SMR – CVG aims to develop a net-zero and nuclear technologies campus at a site next to the former Berkeley Magnox NPP in Gloucestershire. This will be the first step towards a 'net-zero super cluster' investment zone, encouraging the deployment of Rolls-Royce SMRs alongside an array of net-zero technologies.
The agreement envisages cooperation in: training and development of Polish students and specialists; exchange of know-how to accelerate the licensing process of components for the nuclear industry; joint development of related technologies to create large low-carbon regional technology parks; and creating private financing models to ensure the viability of SMR projects.
