The Polish nuclear design becomes one of the most important economic ventures of the coming years. The government wants an investment in a power plant in Pomerania to be not only a key source of energy, but also a motorboat of domestic and local industry. That is why the company Pej, an investor of a nuclear project in Pomerania, puts such a lot of pressure on the so -called Local content, That is, the participation of Polish companies and employees in the implementation of contracts, in this case a contract ensuring energy security. – The success of this project depends on it – emphasized sector representatives during a meeting with entrepreneurs at the Pomeranian Development Agency.
– We are a state -owned company and we really want Polish companies and Polish employees to participate in our project at every stage. Also at the level of the Ministry of Energy, a special team was appointed, which focuses on the support of Polish companies to adapt to participation in nuclear energy projects. The team dedicated to this task was also established in the structures of Polish nuclear power plants – emphasizes Piotr Piela, vice president of the board of Polish nuclear power plants. – We have not yet started construction, but only our company has placed orders in about 380 Polish companies for a total amount of almost a billion zlotys.
Let us emphasize that The nuclear investment in the Lubiatowo-Kopalino location (Choczewo commune) includes the construction of three AP1000 reactors with a total capacity of 3.75 GW. This is one of the largest energy investments so far in the history of Poland, and at the same time an opportunity to include the supply of subsequent hundreds of national entities in the supply chain.
– We talk to Polish entrepreneurs, presenting them proposals for work ranges and learning their possibilities so that they can strengthen and better prepare for participation in the project – adds Piotr Piela. – The meeting, which was organized by the Pomeranian Development Agency, is one of such opportunities.
– Pej is a key partner for us, we have signed an agreement and we will be responsible for two main spheres. The first is Local Content, i.e. we give Pomeranian entrepreneurs information that competitions, tenders are announced, whether by Bechtel or Westinghouse, or by State Treasury companies, so that they would have a chance to play in this game. As part of the second sphere, together with Polish nuclear power plants, we will develop a model in which employees of this power plant, and this can be as many as 12 thousand. people will live in our region. We are currently starting both of these processes – says Piotr Ciechowicz, vice president of the Pomeranian Development Agency.
There are many ways to support Polish companies by PEJ, including Development and launch of an initiative under the name Polish nuclear platform (www.polskaplatformajadrowa.pl), where current information about the investor's activities in the field of cooperation with companies that care about participating in the investment process of the construction of the power plant in Pomerania is published. It is also a place to exchange information between the investor, general contractor and entrepreneurs. The Pej company also cooperates with the financial market and state entities to prepare support tools, including financial for companies.
– We will not give Polish orders guarantee companies, because it does not allow it, but we can and want to increase their possibilities of participating in tenders on equal and partner conditions – emphasizes Pej's vice president.
In practice, the investor and contractors conduct active activities so that domestic companies can compete in tenders: the so -called Supplier Days (Supplier Days), Information meetings and symposia, during which entrepreneurs are explained by technical requirements, ISO standards and certification paths. About 100 companies, almost half from Pomerania, took part in the last edition of such events.
– For Pomeranian micro, small, medium, but also large companies, entering the supply chain is absolutely crucial. The support that we will offer from the regional level to Pomeranian entrepreneurs, first of all, support at the information and consulting level, but also in the second step, I hope, financial. Together with the Pomeranian Development Fund, we will be working on the fact that Pomeranian entrepreneurs, wanting to play in this game for contracts during the construction of the power plant, could at least partially finance the costs of obtaining relevant certificates. We will show such instruments in a moment to entrepreneurs more – says Piotr Ciechowicz.
– We organize a symposia, so far there have been eight of them, where we show companies interested in how to prepare well for this project. Here is a very important element related to quality, i.e. ISO 9001 certification, which is the basic element necessary to participate in this project. This is also cooperation with the Pomeranian Development Agency, which organizes meetings with entrepreneurs operating in the Pomeranian region. All this is to cause that when the implementation of the project itself begins, these companies will be ready to present a competitive and winning offer – says Leszek Hołda, president of Bechtel Polska.
The Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium was placed the first orders for the needs of the project conducted by Pej in October 2024 with previously selected Polish suppliers, including two companies from Pomerania. The consortium conducts a number of preparatory activities so that Polish companies can meet the quality and certification requirements. So far, five selected Polish companies have undergone the first stage of the certification process according to the American NQA-1 standard.
– It will give them a chance to participate in the Polish project, but what is even more important in our opinion also to participate in foreign projects, because we look at the project of building the first nuclear power plant in a broader way – emphasizes Piotr Piela.
– We believe that the participation of local content, i.e. domestic enterprises, including regional enterprises, is an important element of the success of this project. That is why we carry out a lot of supporting activities so that domestic companies can prepare for this unprecedented project. Here I will mention two elements when it comes to the amount of concrete, 570 thousand. m3it is as if we wanted to build three national stadiums, and 39 thousand. T steel, i.e. it is 5.5 Eiffel Tower – says Leszek Hołda. – It shows how huge it is for Polish business, for the Polish economy.
Poland has set a clear goal of the maximum involvement of Polish industry in this project. To meet him and that the participation of domestic companies in the project can reach several dozen percent, many enterprises must undergo the adaptation process to quality and certification standards to provide services and produce products at a sufficiently high level.
The construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant is to enable the start of the first AP1000 reactor in 2036.
