"Basic design of Poland's 4th generation reactor ready! Will Poland have its own nuclear technology?" was the topic of a meeting of the Senate Nuclear and RES Team held on 6 December 2024 in the Senate. It discussed the prospects for the construction of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) "Pola", the design of which has just been completed by the team of the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Świerk, the widely-aspected international cooperation related to it and the possibilities for its application in heating and industry.

The meeting was attended, among others, by representatives of the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Świerk, Director Krzysztof Kurek, Prof Mariusz Dąbrowski, Dr Józef Sobolewski, representatives of companies from the energy and heating industry, and experts.

Senator Grzegorz Czelej, chairman of the team, announced that the basic design of the Polish 4th generation reactor was completed this week. ‘I am proud as a Pole that we have such a modern project, one of the most innovative in Poland and Europe. I warmly congratulate the entire NCBJ team,’ - Senator Czelej said. The Director of NCBJ, Prof. Krzysztof Kurek, expressed his satisfaction with the completion of the first stage of the project, stressing that it was very important that a team of scientists had been formed to create such a project.  Prof. Józef Sobolewski, NCBJ, expressed the hope that ‘Pola’ would not just remain on paper, but that this cutting-edge European project would be realised. During the meeting, it was emphasised that the project was developed in cooperation with a Japanese partner and thanks to the cooperation with Energoprojekt- Katowice. It also spoke of its enormous potential, e.g. for the production not only of electricity or process heat for industrial plants and district heat, but of hydrogen or e-fuels and other applications in polygeneration.

French Ambassador Etienne de Poncins and First Secretary and Head of the Economic Section of the Japanese Embassy Kamio Nobumitsu, who were present at the meeting, expressed their readiness to cooperate with Poland in the construction of the Pola reactor.

As summarised by Senator Grzegorz Czelej, the meeting was an opportunity for an exchange of views between the practitioners who designed the reactor and experts from the heat industry. The outcome of this discussion was brief. When asked whether the industry needed such reactors, the answer was clear: "When will we be able to buy them?"

Źródło: Senat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej