Polish energy group ZE PAK has signed a shareholders’ agreement with SGE to establish a proposed small modular reactor venture at Pątnów, on the site of an existing coal-based power generation complex. The partners envisage the potential development of six BWRX-300 reactors with a combined electrical capacity of 1,800MW, but the project company has not yet been incorporated and construction has not been authorised.
The agreement was signed on 13 October by ZE PAK, its wholly owned subsidiary PAK Pątnów 2 and SGE. ZE PAK reported the transaction to the market through current report 28/2026, setting out the conditions for establishing a special purpose vehicle to prepare and potentially implement the nuclear development.
Under the proposed structure, SGE would hold a majority interest and act as managing partner, while PAK Pątnów 2 would retain a minority shareholding. SGE would be entitled to appoint most members of the venture’s governing bodies, with the remaining appointments and minority protections governed by the shareholders’ agreement.
Incorporation and further steps under the agreement are subject to approvals from the relevant competition authorities. A signed shareholders’ agreement therefore establishes the intended partnership and its rules, but not the completion of the joint venture or a final investment decision to build the power station.
The project would be developed on land currently held by ZE PAK. The company has established operations at Pątnów within the Konin region, where coal-fired generation has played a significant industrial and economic role. Reusing part of the site for nuclear infrastructure would involve substantial changes to its engineering and regulatory requirements.
The agreement provides that ZE PAK and its subsidiary will prepare the relevant site at their own expense after existing activities in that area cease. The land would then be transferred to the planned vehicle partly through a contribution in kind and partly through a sale with a net price of PLN 300 million.
That sale price can be reduced by up to PLN 50 million according to the actual site preparation costs. Payments are scheduled in instalments from 2028 to 2030, when the land transfer is expected. These amounts describe the proposed land transaction, not the capital cost of six nuclear reactors or a secured financing package for construction.
PAK Pątnów 2 would also have a right to sell its minority holding to SGE for €100 million if specified project milestones are achieved within five years of incorporation. The put option is conditional, and the figure must not be confused with project investment already committed or a guaranteed payment.
The technology proposed for Pątnów is the BWRX-300, developed by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. It is designed as a boiling water reactor with an output of around 300MW per unit. Multiplying the six envisaged reactors by that nominal capacity gives the stated possible total of 1,800MW.
A boiling water reactor uses the heat from nuclear fission to generate steam within its reactor coolant system. The steam is used by a turbine-generator arrangement to produce electricity, with the plant’s design providing the controls, containment and supporting systems required for safe operation. The project would have to demonstrate compliance with the applicable Polish nuclear requirements before construction and operation.
Smaller nominal unit size does not remove the need for substantial infrastructure. Reactor buildings, cooling systems, electrical connections, waste management arrangements and supporting utilities must be engineered to suit the site. The number of units ultimately developed would affect the overall construction programme and demand for those shared or repeated systems.
The parties hope that use of a standard reactor design will support repeatable manufacturing of components. A common design can help suppliers develop tooling, inspection methods and quality procedures that may be used across several orders. Nevertheless, the components still require qualification, and site-specific works cannot simply be treated as identical to those at other nuclear locations.
SGE has an existing commercial relationship with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas. According to ZE PAK’s regulatory filing, SGE holds defined rights to promote and implement BWRX-300 technology in the Pątnów area and within a ten-kilometre radius, as well as rights to use the reactor’s standard design under a separate agreement.
Those technology rights are intended to be transferred to the special purpose vehicle on agreed terms. Their transfer would support the development company’s access to the selected design, but it would not constitute a nuclear site licence, environmental permission or authorisation to commence building.
Pątnów’s existing role in power generation may provide infrastructure and industrial experience relevant to redevelopment. Engineers would still need to establish the condition of the land, access arrangements and suitability of any retained utility systems. Previous industrial use may also require assessment of ground conditions and legacy structures before the new facilities could be designed.
Construction of a nuclear plant introduces a more demanding quality and documentation regime than many conventional energy projects. Material traceability, fabrication records, inspection and control of design changes must be incorporated into the supplier arrangements according to the safety function of each component.
The partners have not announced a final construction budget, a financed engineering, procurement and construction contract or a start date for reactor construction. Establishing the project vehicle is one of the commercial prerequisites for taking the development forward; the later investment and licensing decisions remain outstanding.
ZE PAK presents the proposal as part of the economic transition in Eastern Greater Poland, where changes to coal-fired generation are affecting established industrial activity. A nuclear project of the proposed scale could generate demand for specialist engineering and construction services, but any employment or supply chain effects depend on decisions that have not yet been taken.
The proposed Pątnów programme is separate from Poland’s first large-reactor project at Lubiatowo-Kopalino, which is based on Westinghouse AP1000 technology. Although both developments may draw on Polish engineering capability, they involve different sponsors, technologies and procurement programmes.
Completion of the competition clearances would allow SGE and PAK Pątnów 2 to establish their project company. Further work on site preparation, project design, permissions and financing would then determine whether the possible six-reactor BWRX-300 development can advance towards construction.
