GE Vernova, Hitachi, Samsung C&T and Synthos Green Energy (SGE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a standardised framework for the deployment of BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) across Central and Eastern Europe and the UK. The agreement was finalised in New York during the Atlantic Council Nuclear Energy Policy Summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) acts as the core designer and technology provider for the BWRX-300 – a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR featuring passive safety systems. It leverages the design and licensing basis of GVH’s US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-certified ESBWR boiling water reactor design and its existing, licensed GNF2 fuel design.
GVH and Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy are the regional arms of the same global nuclear alliance between GE Vernova and Hitachi. GVH is the US-based joint venture headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. It serves as the primary international designer and technology provider for the BWRX-300 SMR. Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy is the Japan-based arm which acts as the vehicle for Hitachi’s domestic manufacturing and industrial supply chains, which builds heavy reactor components.
Under the MOU, Hitachi delivers deep industrial expertise and access to its established Japanese supply chains. Samsung C&T provides global engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) capabilities, leveraging its experience delivering 12GW of nuclear capacity worldwide. SGE serves as the exclusive regional development platform and local lead across major European markets.
In Poland SGE has achieved decisions in principle for 26 BWRX-300 reactors, with initial development concentrating on three sites to host the first 14 units in partnership with ORLEN. The first unit is targeted to commission in 2032. In the UK, GVH is advancing a 4.2 GWe fleet of 14 reactors across three multi-unit sites. The project has progressed to the Preliminary Regulatory Assessment Deep Dive stage led by Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N), with initial commercial operations targeted for 2034. The BWRX-300 has completed Step 2 of the UK’s Generic Design Assessment. The reference unit for these European builds is currently under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada.
The agreement is linked to the broader Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for SMR deployment in third countries signed in July on the margins of this year’s NATO summit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, and Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. The US Department of State specifically identified the initiative among GE Vernova, Hitachi, Samsung C&T and SGE as a concrete industry effort to advance BWRX-300 deployment across Europe and deepen government-industry cooperation on global energy security.
“As European countries pivot to nuclear, we are committed to working with our close partners to help deploy small modular reactors at the scale they need to deliver on their ambition,” said Roger Martella, GE Vernova’s Chief Corporate Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer. ” This collaboration brings together complementary capabilities to help advance BWRX-300 deployment across multiple markets and build on the momentum already behind the technology.”
Yasunori Inada, Vice President and Executive Officer, and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Business Unit at Hitachi, noted: ” Hitachi will contribute to exploring the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Europe by drawing on the technological capabilities cultivated through our nuclear business and on our collaboration with qualified Japanese suppliers. By further combining the digital technologies and innovation of the Hitachi Group, we will help realise a sustainable energy society and advance decarbonisation in Europe.”
Jung Wook Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Business Unit and Global Operation at Samsung C&T said Samsung C&T is working together with GVH on the deployment of the BWRX-300, and recently achieved a great outcome with Studsvik in Sweden. “Building on Samsung C&T’s proven EPC capabilities, we will fully leverage the synergy created by this four-way partnership to strengthen Europe’s energy security and contribute to the realisation of carbon neutrality.”
Michał Sołowow, founder of SGE said: “By combining GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 technology, Hitachi’s industrial capabilities and Samsung C&T’s global construction expertise, SGE is creating a platform to deploy standardised nuclear fleets across multiple markets. We believe this can become one of the most competitive commercial solutions for Europe’s energy system – delivering reliable, clean energy 24/7, reducing execution risk, strengthening the supply chain and supporting long-term industrial growth.”
The heavy manufacturing strategy for the BWRX-300 relies on a decentralised, factory-built approach with 60-70% of the reactor components prefabricated in factories. Because the consortium draws from a global alliance, the heavy fabrication is distributed across distinct geographic manufacturing hubs.
BWXT Canada is the anchor member of the BWRX-300 qualified supplier group. To handle global demand, BWXT expanded its Cambridge, Ontario manufacturing facility by 50%. This plant is explicitly equipped with the heavy forging and advanced welding infrastructure required to engineer the large and heavy nuclear components, such as the initial reactor pressure vessels.
Under the trilateral framework, Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy leverages its established domestic supply chain. Heavy fabrication capabilities, such as internal reactor structures, steam separators, and core components, use specialised Japanese industrial forging facilities, including partnerships with elite fabricators such as Japan Steel Works (JSW), which possesses some of the world’s only single-piece heavy forging presses.
To meet localisation requirements for the UK and Central European fleets, the consortium relies on established European manufacturing bases In France, GE Power’s industrial turbine factories design and construct the heavy steam turbines. In Poland. local generator factories will deliver heavy off-the-shelf conventional electrical power systems. SGE is integrating domestic mechanical engineering firms, such as Canada’s Velan for specialised safety valves, to localise regional European components.
While Samsung C&T serves primarily as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) lead, South Korea’s industrial footprint provides a fallback heavy component pipeline, hosting world-class heavy forging infrastructure (such as Doosan Enerbility) that seamlessly aligns with the trilateral government MOC to guarantee supply chain resilience
The delivery and deployment timeline for the BWRX-300 SMR fleet is anchored by a strict “first-of-a-kind” (FOAK) schedule in Canada, which sets the baseline for the subsequent rollouts in Poland and the UK. The components currently being manufactured for the Darlington project serve as the reference standard for the European fleet. The binding physical milestone for the entire global programme is the on-time delivery of the first reactor pressure vessel (RPV), which is currently being forged and assembled by BWXT Canada at its facility in Cambridge, Ontario. Following the RPV delivery in 2028-29, the site will transition to integrating the factory-prefabricated modular components alongside long-lead conventional systems (steam turbines and transformers). Grid connection is scheduled for 2029-30. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) expects the first commercial Darlington SMR to be fully operational by 2030.
Using the lessons learned and supply chain patterns established in Canada, the European rollout will begin in Poland under SGE. Heavy equipment procurement and specialised forging allocations for the first Polish sites are scheduled to begin immediately following Canada’s physical assembly validations. SGE and ORLEN have targeted 2032 for the grid connection of Poland’s first operational BWRX-300 unit. Production will scale up across the 26 approved regional sites, shifting from FOAK builds to modular factory delivery.
The UK timeline runs slightly behind Poland due to country-specific regulatory assessment steps. Following the completion of the GDA Step 2, the next three years (2026–2029) will focus on final GDA clearings and site-specific licensing led by GBE-N). Heavy assembly plans for the UK rely on qualifying local British manufacturers to handle modular assembly, while relying on the primary BWXT/Hitachi hubs for the nuclear island cores. The first UK grid connection targets 2034).
