SGE, a European small modular reactor development platform, has submitted an application under the UK’s Advanced Nuclear Framework to build fourteen GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 reactors across three UK sites—a fleet with a combined capacity of 4.2 GW. The announcement, made alongside a broad consortium of delivery and technology partners, marks one of the largest SMR proposals yet filed in the United Kingdom.
The planned fleet could supply roughly 11% of UK power demand, or the equivalent of nearly eight million homes, for at least sixty years.
SGE submits ANF application for 14-reactor UK fleet
SGE has formally submitted its application under the UK’s Advanced Nuclear Framework to develop fourteen BWRX-300 small modular reactors across three sites in England and Wales. The combined fleet would deliver 4.2 GW of capacity — enough to cover roughly 11% of UK power demand, or close to eight million homes, for at least sixty years.
To anchor the project in the UK, SGE has set up SGE SMR UK Limited as its dedicated project vehicle. They’re not going it alone, either. The delivery consortium spans GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Samsung C&T, Laing O’Rourke, Aecon Group, Google Cloud, Fermi Development, and Etara—plus an experienced nuclear operator that hasn’t been publicly named yet.
Fleet-based deployment model and site structure
SGE’s approach is built around scale and repetition. Rather than treating each reactor as a standalone build, the company is proposing a standardized, fleet-based deployment across three multi-unit sites. The first site is planned to host six BWRX-300 units, with two more sites to follow.
CEO Rafal Kasprów has been direct about the logic: standardization, modularization, and repetition are the levers SGE believes will cut costs, lower construction risk, and compress delivery timelines—treating nuclear more like an industrial manufacturing program than a one-off infrastructure project.
On financing, SGE is positioning this as a privately financed, commercially led investment. The company plans to operate under a Contract for Difference framework with National Wealth Fund engagement. That structure means consumers face no charges before the plants are actually generating power.
BWRX-300 technology and existing regulatory progress
The BWRX-300 isn’t an untested concept. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy describes it as a tenth-generation design, drawing on the operational experience of 67 prior reactor deployments—a lineage that matters when regulators and investors are assessing risk.
In December 2025, the reactor completed Step 2 of the UK’s Generic Design Assessment, a process conducted jointly by the Environment Agency, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, and Natural Resources Wales. Regulators confirmed no fundamental safety, security, safeguards, or environmental protection shortfalls that would prevent deployment in England and Wales. It was also the fastest GDA engagement completed to date in the UK.
Construction of the first commercial-scale BWRX-300 is already underway at the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Ontario, Canada. That real-world build gives the technology something most SMR designs currently lack: actual project execution evidence, not just engineering drawings.
Project timeline and expected milestones
SGE has laid out a fairly detailed timeline. The company expects the project to enter the UK’s Advanced Nuclear Pipeline in November 2026, with site selection and negotiations over the government support scheme targeted for completion in the first half of 2027.
Once those steps are done, major investment decisions, site preparation work, and formal licensing activities are expected to follow within roughly one year—putting serious ground-level activity starting around mid-2028. The first commercial operation of the initial unit is targeted for 2034. Ambitious, yes, but the combination of an already-progressing GDA process and an active reference build in Canada lends the schedule more credibility than a purely theoretical projection would carry.
Background: SGE and the UK nuclear policy context
SGE was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Warsaw. The company describes itself as a European SMR development platform, currently active in more than half a dozen European countries. Its flagship project is in Poland, developed in partnership with energy company ORLEN, with the first unit expected to be commissioned in 2032.
The UK application fits into a broader European expansion strategy. SGE’s founder, Michał Sołowow, has pointed to the UK’s experienced nuclear workforce and the government’s clear regulatory pathway as key reasons for prioritizing the British market. That pathway — the Advanced Nuclear Framework — gives new nuclear projects a structured route to market, combining regulatory assessment with commercial support mechanisms and reducing some of the uncertainty that has historically made nuclear financing so difficult.
SGE describes the UK nuclear sector as one of Europe’s most capable, citing its skilled workforce and strong industrial base as assets the project intends to draw on heavily through domestic supply chain engagement.
First power in 2034
SGE has submitted an ANF application to build fourteen BWRX-300 reactors across three UK sites, totalling 4.2 GW. The project is privately financed, structured around a fleet deployment model, and backed by a consortium spanning construction, technology, and digital infrastructure. The BWRX-300 has already cleared Step 2 of the UK’s GDA process, and a reference build is under construction in Canada. SGE expects to enter the advanced nuclear pipeline in late 2026, with site selection and support scheme negotiations wrapping up by mid-2027 and first power targeted for 2034.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
