Event in Krakow Highlights Opportunities to Support Poland’s First Nuclear Power Plant
Krakow, Poland - February 20, 2025 – Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel welcomed more than 174 attendees from 74 companies to a Supplier Symposium in Krakow Feb. 19 – 20. The event presented opportunities for local suppliers to support the Poland AP1000® project under construction for state-owned Polish utility Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ).
Miroslaw Kowalik, President of Westinghouse Poland operations, spoke about the economic benefits and jobs that will come from Poland’s first AP1000 plant.
During the event, PEJ briefed attendees on the current status of the project and Westinghouse and Bechtel outlined plant equipment and services opportunities for the Polish supply chain. Vendors were also provided an overview of the construction plan for the three AP1000 reactors located at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in northern Poland.
“This is the seventh supplier event hosted in Poland by Westinghouse and Bechtel as we look to tap into the experience and expertise of local construction, mechanical and electrical suppliers to help build Poland’s first nuclear power plant and other nuclear power plants across the region,” said Miroslaw Kowalik, President of Westinghouse Poland operations. “Building several advanced AP1000 reactors will yield tens of billions of zloty of localized spend in Poland, providing thousands of jobs before and during construction, as well as over 1,000 well-paid and qualified operations and maintenance jobs.”
“The potential of this project is demonstrated in the project numbers. To build the first power plant in Poland we are going to need more than half a million cubic meters of high-quality concrete, 39,000 tons of steel, and 300 kilometers of pipes. To do this we will need the help of Polish suppliers and that is why we continue to hold Supplier Symposiums. To date, we have had over 1,000 participants in these Supplier Symposiums and almost 700 Polish suppliers have registered in our Supplier portal. We are committed to the development of the Polish new nuclear industry as we build the country’s first nuclear power plant," said Leszek Hołda, President of Bechtel Poland.
Westinghouse Senior Director Sean Jones, left, spoke with attendees about the AP1000 reactor technology.
Through this outreach to suppliers, Westinghouse has signed Memorandums of Understanding with 32 Polish suppliers for cooperation on the construction of the AP1000 plant. This historic investment in nuclear energy will secure Poland's energy future while creating a new industrial sector and benefiting the county’s economy.
The AP1000 reactor is the only operating advanced Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. There are six AP1000 reactors currently setting operational performance and availability records worldwide with twelve additional reactors under construction and four more under contract. There will be 18 units based on AP1000 technology in operation globally by the end of the decade. The AP1000 technology has also been selected for nuclear energy programs in Ukraine and Bulgaria and is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Europe, the United Kingdom, India and North America.
Bechtel has been helping customers provide clean energy through nuclear power for 70 years. During that time, the company has designed, built, or provided construction services for 150 nuclear power plants around the world, representing more than 76,000 megawatts of new generating capacity. The portfolio spans the globe and includes new nuclear projects in the United States, United Kingdom and Poland, as well as modifications to existing plants, new builds and the development of next-generation technologies.
Headline image caption: More than 174 attendees from 74 companies attended our Supplier Symposium in Krakow, Poland, on Feb. 19-20.
