The units listed in the application – in Włocławek, Stawy Monowskie near Oświęcim, and Stalowa Wola – are the first phase of a broader OSGE programme, which ultimately includes the construction of 26 BWRX-300 units in line with the principal decisions obtained by the company from the Polish government.
A Contract for Difference (CfD) is a support mechanism in which two parties settle the difference between a predetermined strike price and the current market price of a given asset – in the case of energy, the price of electricity. When market prices are below the reference price, the positive difference is paid to the producer. If market prices exceed the reference price, the difference is paid to the supporting party. In the energy sector, a CfD acts as a price stabilisation mechanism.
“The Contract for Difference for 14 units will enable us to build a fleet of BWRX-300 reactors in Poland,” said OSGE CEO Rafał Kasprów. “Thanks to economies of scale, standardisation and modularisation, we will reduce unit cost and, as a result, create a cost-attractive electricity generation model for both individual and industrial customers. At the same time, the approval of the Contract for Difference will be a significant step toward building a robust SMR supply chain in Poland.”
In December 2025, the European Commission concluded that the planned public support for Poland’s first large-scale nuclear power plant complies with EU rules on state aid. The support the government intends to give Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) for the construction of three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania includes a two-way Contract for Difference providing revenue stability over the entire 60-year lifetime of the power plant.
“The recent example of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe has shown that a Contract for Difference for a nuclear project can be notified by the European Commission very efficiently,” added Bartosz Fijałkowski, Vice President of the Management Board of OSGE. “In that process the fact that the application was prepared very professionally by the Polish government and approved by the Commission without the need for modifications has been equally important. We are confident that our case will be similar, especially given the growing support and positive attitude toward SMR projects in Brussels.”
Based on OSGE’s submission, the government will now prepare documentation for the European Commission’s notification.
OSGE has already obtained decisions in principle for all locations indicated in the application. For two projects – Włocławek and Stawy Monowskie – the Director General for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) has already issued decisions defining the scope of the environmental impact assessment report, while for the Stalowa Wola project the relevant application has been submitted. OSGE has also obtained grid connection conditions issued by Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne SA for the Stawy Monowskie site.
According to OSGE’s assumptions, the first BWRX-300 unit will be commissioned in 2032 in Włocławek.
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEVH’s) BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GEVH’s US Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified ESBWR boiling water reactor design and its existing, licensed GNF2 fuel design, a unique combination that GEVH says positions it to deliver an “innovative, carbon-free baseload power generation source” this decade.
The first BWRX-300 is under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade. The Darlington project is a reference project for OSGE.
