Polish billionaire plans £35bn UK small modular reactor fleet
Polish billionaire Michał Sołowow is proposing a £35bn rollout of SGE small modular reactors across Britain—14 units on three sites totalling 4.2GW, enough to power about eight million homes from 2034, funded mainly with private capital and government Contracts for Difference rather than upfront construction subsidies.
Warsaw-based Synthos Green Energy (SGE) submitted the plan on 2 July 2026 under the UK's Advanced Nuclear Framework. If it advances, the consortium says the programme would be Britain's largest privately led nuclear investment in recent decades.
Key Takeaways
- SGE targets 14 GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 reactors across three sites for a combined £35bn.
- Output of 4.2GW could meet roughly 11% of UK electricity demand, with first commercial power aimed for 2034.
- Sołowow plans to seek investors after securing CfD backing; returns depend on electricity sales, not construction fees.
- Delivery partners include Laing O'Rourke, Samsung C&T, Aecon, Google Cloud, Fermi Development and Etara.
- The Guardian reports an application for the Oldbury site in Gloucestershire, competing with Rolls-Royce SMR plans at Wylfa.
Who is investing in the UK SMR fleet?
The bid is led by Michał Sołowow, a Polish industrialist and rally driver who founded SGE. His consortium, known as SGE SMR, signed a joint venture agreement in London this week.
Sołowow told Reuters that Britain offers an attractive regulatory market and that SGE would raise outside investment once it secures government support through contracts for difference. "We are not making money from the construction; we are only making money when the electrons go to the grid," he said.
Each 300-megawatt reactor is expected to cost between £2.2bn and £2.5bn, according to reporting on the announcement. For more on how wealthy investors are reshaping energy markets, see our Net Worth & Wealth coverage.
How would the 14-reactor programme work?
SGE plans a six-reactor station at its first site, followed by two further sites with four units each. The repeatable fleet-build model is designed to cut costs and shorten construction timelines.
The reactors would use GE Vernova Hitachi's BWRX-300 technology, which completed Step 2 of the UK's Generic Design Assessment in December 2025 and is already under construction in Canada. Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation is assessing the design.
Construction Enquirer reports that Laing O'Rourke will apply industrialised construction and advanced manufacturing methods from major nuclear projects to improve safety and programme certainty.
Where could the reactors be built?
SGE has identified three potential locations but has not publicly confirmed all sites. The Guardian understands the consortium applied to use Oldbury in south Gloucestershire, a former nuclear site owned by Great British Nuclear.
Great British Nuclear also owns Wylfa in Wales, which the government has already earmarked for Rolls-Royce's competing SMR design. That rival project could start generating as early as 2032.
Sołowow said one site could be purchased from the government. SGE hopes to secure all three locations within about a year and has held advanced talks with a potential operator, with an announcement expected later in 2026.
What is the timeline for UK power?
SGE expects its proposal to enter the Advanced Nuclear Pipeline later in 2026. Site selection and negotiations over government support are targeted for the first half of 2027.
Major investment, licensing and site preparation could begin roughly a year after that, with the first reactor entering commercial operation in 2034. The fleet is intended to operate for more than 60 years.
Google Cloud joined the consortium, and Sołowow has floated accompanying datacentre investments of up to £4.5bn—described as a separate proposal from the current nuclear application. Full details are in The Guardian's report.