The Trump administration has endorsed an ambitious initiative to deploy numerous small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) across Europe, in collaboration with leading Polish industrial figures. The effort, described by US officials as a “Manhattan Project moment,” seeks to accelerate the mass production and installation of these compact nuclear power plants, which are designed to be more cost-effective and quicker to build than traditional large-scale reactors.
The alliance, overseen by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, involves American, Japanese, and South Korean companies working closely with Poland’s Synthos Green Energy (SGE). SGE is led by Michal Solowow, a prominent Polish industrialist and former rally driver considered one of the country’s wealthiest individuals. The company aims to build reactors with an output of around 300 megawatts (MW) each, approximately one-third the capacity of a conventional nuclear power station. Plans include constructing up to 62 reactors, with 26 slated for Poland and 14 for the United Kingdom.
Discussing the project, Theodore Garrish, the head of the US Department of Energy’s nuclear division, characterized the initiative as a gateway to expanding American nuclear technology throughout Europe, beginning with Poland. Meanwhile, the UK government has shown interest in the program, with Trade Minister Lord Sarwar recently meeting SGE representatives. Sarwar highlighted the potential for SMRs to provide secure, low-carbon energy while fostering economic growth and job creation.
The SMR concept, which dates back to the 1950s, has gained renewed traction amid challenges associated with building large-scale nuclear plants, such as high costs, construction delays, and project complexities. Proponents argue that SMRs, with outputs ranging from one-tenth to half that of traditional reactors, can be produced using industrial templates and sited closer to demand centers. Critics, however, warn that the technology remains largely unproven, may be less efficient, and could pose increased security risks due to the greater number of smaller sites requiring protection.
Poland is still in the preparatory phase of developing its first conventional nuclear power station, and SGE’s plans aim to complement these efforts. The company intends to begin construction on a combined 4.2 gigawatts (GW) of SMR capacity at three undisclosed UK locations as early as 2027. Solowow has projected that the first reactors will connect to the Polish grid by 2032, with the UK facilities becoming operational by 2034. Emphasizing the project’s international character, Solowow stated, “This is not a Polish invasion. It will be an English project. A genuinely English project.”
Robert Rudich, a former US energy attaché in Warsaw and now SGE’s non-executive director for the UK, emphasized the project’s role in addressing the gap between ambitious national nuclear energy goals and financial constraints. He said, “Countries have huge ambitions and need for nuclear energy that far outpaces national budgets ... That’s where our project comes in, to fill that gap.”
The Trump administration’s backing of this initiative aligns with broader efforts to shape European energy policy, including promoting US liquefied natural gas exports and advocating for renewed US involvement in European energy infrastructure. At the project’s launch event in Warsaw, Tom Rose, the US ambassador to Poland under Trump, endorsed the plan as a transformative step for clean energy cooperation between the United States and Europe.