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(Bloomberg) — Poland seeks to partner with large electricity consumers, such as tech companies or miner KGHM Polska Miedz SA, in its second nuclear power plant to reduce the costs for taxpayers, the government official in charge of the program said. 

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The European Union’s most coal-dependent country is already working with US partners to prepare its first atomic-energy complex, a project seen worth 192 billion zloty ($50 billion). A third of this sum will come from Poland’s budget and the rest mostly via state-guaranteed debt. 

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With its finances strained by a military buildup due to war in neighboring Ukraine, Poland now intends to approach corporates for its second nuclear-power project, Deputy Industry Minister Wojciech Wrochna told Bloomberg News. This investment plan is still being developed, he said, and it’s not yet clear which foreign firms will provide the knowhow.

“We’re in talks with partners who could be interested in buying energy from the plant,” he said in an interview. “It could be big tech or energy-intensive firms, like KGHM. They could also join the project as investors.”

Financing high-cost nuclear power plants is one of the biggest hurdles to building new stations. Projects often need state backing and investors are cautious about being on the hook for delays and cost overruns during construction.

Long-term contracts known as power-purchase agreements are a well-known financing mechanism used in the renewables industry but they’re less common in nuclear. Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google became the top buyers of renewable PPAs in Europe last year. These firms are increasingly interested in nuclear energy to provide the stable supplies that tech companies need.

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Poland wants to have between 6 gigawatts and 9 gigawatts of nuclear power by the early 2040s, which would allow the country to more easily replace aging coal-fired units. It’s also investing in wind farms, solar energy and gas-fired plants to cut carbon emissions and meet the EU’s climate neutrality target in 2050.

‘Too Many Unknowns’

Wrochna’s comments come as Poland’s budget deficit is seen above 5% of gross domestic product for a third straight year in 2025. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s cabinet is also keen to embrace nuclear power, which is regarded as an essential part of the country’s energy security after Russian gas imports were cut off.

The final decision on the second nuclear project will be taken after Poland checks costs, financing and a potential location for the project, according to Wrochna. The government will also hold talks with the US, South Korea and France — three countries that could supply technology. Washington has lobbied to stick with US firms to help reduce overall costs. 

“To say today that this power station will be built is certainly going too far,” Wrochna said. “There are still too many unknowns.”

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Poland is planning to complete its first nuclear unit, which will be built by by US-based Westinghouse Electric Co. and Bechtel Group Inc., in 2036, although negotiations with the companies continue amid tensions with President Donald Trump’s administration. The EU’s executive has also questioned public aid for the investment.

“This project cements our relations” with the US and Poland is “determined” to carry it out, Wrochna said. 

Poland has scope for large scale nuclear power plants as well as so-called small modular reactors, or SMRs, he said. State-run energy company Orlen SA and billionaire Michal Solowow’s Synthos Green Energy SA have been working to bring such technology to the east European nation, with the government also backing their efforts, according to Wrochna. 

“We see a big potential in SMRs” and “positive sentiment” toward the project has been rising within the government, Wrochna said.

—With assistance from Rachel Morison.

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