UK-Polish partnership for SMR deployment in Poland

Tuesday, 12 March 2024

Last year, state-owned Industria - part of Industrial Development Agency JSC (IDA) - selected Rolls-Royce SMR technology to fulfil the zero-emission energy goals of the Central Hydrogen Cluster in Poland and as part of their plans to produce 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen every year.

With its partners - including Western Gateway, SGSC, University of Bristol, Vital Energi and Rolls-Royce SMR - Chiltern Vital Group (CVG) intends to create a world-first net-zero and nuclear technologies campus at a site next to the former Berkeley Magnox nuclear power plant in in Gloucestershire, southwest England. This will be the first step towards a 'net-zero super cluster' investment zone, encouraging the roll out of Rolls-Royce SMRs alongside an array of net-zero technologies.

On 11 March, at IDA's headquarters in Warsaw, Industria and CVG signed a letter of intent to cooperate.

The main provisions of the agreement include cooperation in: training and development of skills of Polish students and specialists; exchange of know-how to accelerate the licensing process of components dedicated to 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 small modular reactor (SMR) projects.

"Chiltern Vital Group is a very important partner for us due to the group's experience in industrial cluster projects that will support the development of the Central Hydrogen Valley and the deployment of Rolls-Royce SMR units within the valley," said Industria President Szczepan Ruman. "The small modular reactors will produce stable, affordable, low-emission energy that will power the region's industry and households for at least 60 years.

"However, to achieve this goal, we need to provide significant financial resources. Therefore, we are glad that an experienced British institution - CVG - is starting cooperation with us aimed at building RR SMR units and related technologies that will provide future opportunities for employment development in Poland, Great Britain and internationally."

CVG CEO Chris Turner added: "CVG is excited about the prospects that may result from signing a strategically important cooperation agreement with Industria in Poland today. SMR technology can only be implemented on the required scale through long-term public-private and international partnerships. We are very pleased to have leading public and private sector partners on our major projects in the UK, such as the Western Gateway and the Rolls-Royce SMR in the planned Berkeley/Oldbury 'Severn Edge' development zone, and to be a significant partner in the Yorkshire Energy Park Freeport.

"Today we have significantly expanded our international SMR-related technology cooperation through an agreement with Industria."

Alan Woods, Rolls-Royce SMR's Director of Strategy and Business Development, welcomed the signing of the agreement between Industria and CVG, saying the company is "delighted to see two of our close partners agree to collaborate on their efforts to bring our technology to fruition".

He added: "Both CVG and Industria are highly capable organisations, able to deliver low-carbon energy projects powered by Rolls-Royce SMRs."

In July last year, Industria signed a letter of intent with the Kostrzyn-Słubicka Special Economic Zone SA (KSSSE) regarding cooperation on the location of a modular power plant based on Rolls-Royce SMR technology in the areas covered by the KSSSE.