Warsaw preparing to start process of choosing a partner for a second nuclear station
Poland and Canada have signed what they called a “landmark” agreement that provides a legal framework for more intensive cooperation on nuclear power, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau announced after a meeting in Warsaw.
Trudeau said once in force, the agreement will deepen ties between Canadian and Polish energy sectors, enabling Canadian companies to apply their nuclear expertise to support Poland’s energy transition and enhance energy security for Poland and the region.
He added: “Canada will use our nuclear energy expertise to help Poland transition towards clean, reliable, and domestically sourced energy, phasing out coal from their national power grid.”
Poland, which is working to reduce its reliance on coal, has already chosen Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear station in the northern province of Pomerania on the Baltic Sea coast, but financing is still not fully agreed.
Warsaw is now preparing to start the process of choosing a partner for a second nuclear station.
At a press conference following the announcement of the agreement, Tusk said Canada’s small modular reactor (SMR) experience was part of the deal.
Canada expects to be the first G7 country to have the first operational SMR, the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300, by 2029. It is under development by Ontario Power Generation at its Darlington nuclear station, and Poland is watching developments at Darlington closely, as it plans to deploy the same SMR technology shortly thereafter, the Canadian government said in a statement.
In 2023, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the National Atomic Energy Agency of Poland signed a memorandum of understanding on SMRs, paving the way for increased exchanges on best practices and technical reviews related to SMR technology.
Poland does not yet generate nuclear power commercially, but it has ambitious plans to use both large-scale and SMR nuclear technology.
At the press conference, Tusk also referred to Westinghouse’s Canadian ownership. He said: “Canada is the main provider of technology for Poland’s first nuclear plant – Westinghouse is owned by Canadian companies.”
Westinghouse went bankrupt in 2017. It emerged from bankruptcy after being purchased by Brookfield Business Partners, a Canadian private equity fund. They sold it to a consortium of Canada-based Brookfield Renewable Partners and Cameco, the Canadian uranium and nuclear fuel company.
