Atomlink: Unlocking Civil Nuclear Expansion at the Western Frontier

In an increasingly volatile world, policymakers are looking to civil nuclear energy to revive and grow critical industries, create jobs, and secure energy supply against foreign adversaries. Conversely, civil nuclear has also become a geopolitical tool—with nations like Russia and China using their technical and supply chain competitiveness to extend their reach and influence into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and beyond, with implications for security and non-proliferation.

In this paper, we set out the structure for a new civil nuclear agreement among Poland, the United States, and the United Kingdom—Project Atomlink. Co-authored by European research organisation, Project Tempo, and US think tank, Third Way, Atomlink offers new pathways forward for US, UK, and Polish collaboration on civil nuclear capacity in Poland.

This paper follows the success of Atombridge, published earlier this year, which looked at the future of US and UK bilateral collaboration on nuclear energy. Atomlink expands on this, looking at how the US and UK can help expediate Poland’s nuclear capacity. Poland has seen huge changes in the last few years, to its energy mix, at its borders, and in its political makeup. As Warsaw moves away from its heavy coal reliance, nuclear uptake in Poland has increased dramatically, but nuclear reflects more than just a desire to decarbonise: it is a pillar of Poland’s future energy security, expanding defence capacity, and job creation.

Atomlink presents a selection of legislative pathways to expediate nuclear capacity, including:

• Derisking financing by establishing a US-UK-Poland nuclear financing partnership and align on key policies, strategic technologies, and address critical financing gaps.
• Accelerating licensing by focussing on licensing sites, and not reactors.
• Securing the supply chain by facilitating a trilateral ‘incentive exchange model’ to unlock demand, leverage Polish manufacturing within the supply chain, and assure fuel supply for Polish plants.
• Developing the workforce, by completing a landscape assessment of Poland’s nuclear skills capacity, so the US and UK can most effectively collaborate and upskill the Polish workforce.

Read the full paper below.