Polish billionaire Michał Solowow has announced his intention to invest £35 billion in the construction of 14 small modular nuclear reactors in the UK. The project will supply electricity to around 8 million households for over 60 years.
- Michal Solovov is investing £35 billion in 14 small nuclear reactors in the UK.
- The reactors will be able to supply electricity to 8 million households.
- The first reactors are scheduled to come online in 2034.
- GE Vernova, Hitachi and Google Cloud have joined the project.
- The initiative is set to become one of the largest private nuclear projects in the country.
Polish investor launches large-scale nuclear project
Polish billionaire, industrialist and racing driver Michal Solovov has announced its intention to invest 35 billion pounds sterling in the construction of 14 small modular reactors (SMRs) at three sites in the UK. The project will be carried out by the SGE SMR consortium, which plans to build state-of-the-art reactors with a capacity of 300 MW each. One of the potential sites is located on the site of the former Oldbury nuclear power station in Gloucestershire.
The reactors will provide electricity to 8 million homes
According to the consortium’s estimates, once construction is complete, the new reactors will be able to generate enough electricity to meet the needs of around 8 million British households for over 60 years. The cost of a single reactor will be between 2.2 and 2.5 billion pounds, and the first units are scheduled to come on stream in 2034.
Project partners
GE Vernova, Hitachi and Google Cloud have joined the project. The partners are responsible for the BWRX-300 reactor technology. In addition, the parties are considering the possibility of building large data centres that will be powered by electricity generated by the new nuclear power stations. Potential investment in this area could reach £4.5 billion.
Competition with Rolls-Royce
The SGE project will be a direct competitor to the British company Rolls-Royce, which previously won a government tender to develop its own small modular reactors and plans to start generating electricity no earlier than 2032. SGE hopes to secure a government contract under the Contracts for Difference scheme, which guarantees a fixed price for the electricity generated once the plants are operational.
The UK is banking on nuclear power
The UK Government is actively promoting the development of new nuclear power as the cornerstone of the future energy system. Keir Starmer has repeatedly stated that small modular reactors are intended to supply electricity to energy-intensive data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Representatives of the UK nuclear industry believe that the emergence of major private investors is a sign of growing business confidence in the government’s new strategy for the development of nuclear energy.
