The country that once ran almost entirely on coal is now pinning a big part of its future on nuclear – and, unexpectedly, on heavy machinery built in eastern France. Behind a headline deal in Warsaw, workshops in Belfort are lighting up again, signalling a strategic return for French know‑how that many thought had slipped away for good.
Poland’s break with coal, and a first big bet on nuclear
For decades, Poland stood out in Europe as the archetypal coal economy. In 2022, more than 70% of its electricity still came from coal-fired plants. That share has since slid below 50%, squeezed by climate targets, rising carbon prices and the simple ageing of power stations built in another era.
In early January 2026, Warsaw confirmed a long-discussed step: the country will build its first nuclear power station at Lubiatowo, on the Baltic coast. The plant will use three AP1000 reactors supplied by US group Westinghouse, a technology seen as a flagship of the current American nuclear offering.
Poland’s first nuclear station at Lubiatowo will pair US-built AP1000 reactors with French-built steam turbines at its core.
The AP1000 design sets the nuclear safety and reactor side of the project. Yet the part that actually turns heat into electricity for millions of homes will be largely French. Poland has selected Arabelle Solutions, based in Belfort, to supply the three giant steam turbines and the wider “conventional island” that surrounds them.
What Poland is buying: three giant Arabelle turbines
The contract covers three Arabelle turbines, each rated at around 1,200 megawatts of electrical output. For scale, a single unit of that size can feed several million households under normal conditions.
These turbines will equip the three AP1000 units planned at Lubiatowo, with a staggered start-up from 2033 through the mid‑2030s. All design, machining and assembly of the turbines will take place in Belfort, where Arabelle Solutions concentrates one of the densest clusters of high-end nuclear turbine expertise in the world.
The Arabelle technology is already deployed across multiple continents, including on EPR reactors in France, the UK and China. The machines are designed to pull as much energy as possible out of high-pressure steam, while running almost continuously for decades with tight maintenance cycles.
Beyond the turbine: a full steam island built in France
The Polish deal is not just about three rotating shafts. It includes most of what is known as the Steam Turbine Island: the condenser that cools and re-liquefies steam, major generators, auxiliary systems, mechanical interfaces and the complex control equipment that ties all of this into the reactor side.
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This entire package will be engineered and integrated in France, in close coordination with Westinghouse, which leads the nuclear island design for the AP1000. That cooperation seeks to align two different industrial cultures on one coherent, long-lived plant design.
From condenser to generator, the entire “steam island” for Poland’s first nuclear plant will be architected in Belfort.
A turbulent industrial saga: how Belfort came back under French control
The story behind this contract stretches back more than a century. The turbine activity in Belfort traces its roots to early 20th-century French engineering, and grew into a backbone supplier to France’s nuclear fleet from the 1970s onwards. The Arabelle name eventually became shorthand for high-powered, long-life nuclear turbines.
That trajectory veered sharply in 2014, when Alstom’s energy activities, including the turbine business, were sold to US conglomerate General Electric. The deal, approved by the French state, was widely perceived as a loss of industrial sovereignty, since the turbine sits at the heart of the country’s electricity system.
Legal safeguards and a “golden share” gave Paris certain veto rights, but operational control shifted across the Atlantic. For many in the French energy sector, that period marked a painful low point in national industrial policy.
The balance shifted again in May 2024. EDF, the state-backed utility, bought back the nuclear turbine business for roughly €175 million. The unit was rebranded Arabelle Solutions, reuniting the technology with public ownership and a clear strategic mandate.
Today the company employs about 3,300 people, operates in around 16 countries and builds the Arabelle‑1700 turbine in Belfort, one of the most powerful nuclear turbines in operation worldwide. The Polish order arrives at a moment when France wants this capability not just preserved, but actively projected abroad.
Jobs, skills and regional impact in Belfort
For Belfort, a town long exposed to ups and downs in the global energy market, the Lubiatowo contract brings more than headlines. Local estimates point to around 1,000 direct and indirect jobs tied to the project over several years.
Engineers, welders, machinists, automation specialists and logistics staff will be mobilised. Subcontractors in Bourgogne–Franche‑Comté – from precision metal workshops to specialist transport firms – gain visibility and a predictable workload stretching into the 2030s.
This kind of large, multi-year contract acts as industrial ballast. Turbine production cannot easily be shifted overnight to another site, and the skills required take years to form. That helps anchor high-value manufacturing in a region that has sometimes struggled to keep it.
What the Polish contract is likely worth
Neither Warsaw nor Arabelle Solutions has published an official price tag. But sector benchmarks allow a reasonable estimate.
- In 2006, the turbine for France’s Flamanville 3 EPR was billed at roughly €350 million.
- Since then, inflation in industrial costs and tighter safety rules have raised prices.
- Engineering complexity tends to be higher for first-of-a-kind projects in a new nuclear country.
Energy economists who track such projects now place the cost of a large turbine island in the range of €400–600 million per reactor. Applying that to the three Lubiatowo units suggests a total contract value above €1 billion, likely closer to €1.5 billion.
A clear signal for Europe’s nuclear ambitions
The Polish deal lands in a Europe divided over nuclear power but increasingly anxious about energy security and carbon targets. Several states, from the Netherlands to Czechia, are reconsidering nuclear capacity, while others such as Germany remain firmly opposed.
A French-built turbine on an American reactor in a Polish plant sends a blunt message: European nuclear industry is not out of the game.
South Korea and China have become aggressive bidders for international nuclear projects, often offering integrated packages of reactors, financing and construction. Against that backdrop, the Lubiatowo project shows that a Franco-American pairing can still win strategic tenders on the continent.
For France, the symbolism is sharp. The country is not selling a reactor design this time, but it is exporting the critical machine that turns nuclear heat into electricity. In energy terms, that is where efficiency, reliability and long-term performance are largely decided.
Arabelle’s growing international footprint
The Polish contract also joins a broader portfolio of projects that keep the Belfort workshops busy across multiple nuclear technologies.
| Country/region | Project | Role | Key equipment | Timeline | Main stakes |
| Poland | Lubiatowo (AP1000) | New build | 3 x 1,200 MW Arabelle turbines | 2026–2035 | First Polish plant, reference for future exports |
| France | Existing 56‑reactor fleet | Life extension | Major turbine and generator upgrades | 2024–2040 | Keeping the current fleet running safely and efficiently |
| United Kingdom | Hinkley Point C (EPR) | Engineering and commissioning | Arabelle turbines for EPR units | 2024–2030 | Confirming the EPR standard in a non‑French market |
| Finland | Olkiluoto 3 (EPR) | Technical support | Conventional island | Ongoing | Long-term performance feedback from an operating EPR |
| Hungary | Paks II (VVER) | Industrial follow‑up | Arabelle turbines | Ongoing | Managing sensitive geopolitical constraints |
| Turkey | Akkuyu (VVER) | Support | Arabelle turbines | Ongoing | Maintaining a European industrial footprint |
| China | Taishan 1 & 2 (EPR) | Maintenance and expertise | Arabelle turbines | Long term | Gathering operating data from the first EPRs in service |
What a “steam turbine island” actually is
The jargon around nuclear plants can blur the basic mechanics. In simple terms, a large pressurised-water reactor such as an AP1000 or an EPR heats water to produce very hot, high-pressure steam. That steam drives a turbine, which spins a generator, producing electricity.
The group of systems from the steam inlet to the grid connection point is often called the “steam turbine island” or “conventional island”. It usually includes:
- the turbine itself, which converts steam energy into mechanical rotation
- a generator, which turns that rotation into electrical current
- a condenser, which cools and recycles steam back into water
- auxiliary systems such as pumps, valves, lubrication and control equipment
Most of these parts sit outside the nuclear safety envelope, but their performance has a big impact on plant economics. A more efficient turbine island can deliver extra megawatt-hours over the plant’s lifetime without touching the reactor core.
Risks, benefits and what happens if plans slip
Nuclear megaprojects carry well-known risks. Construction delays can blow out budgets, political majorities can shift, and public opposition can grow if communication falters. For a first‑time nuclear country like Poland, building up a competent regulator and a skilled workforce will take sustained effort.
On the other hand, once a plant like Lubiatowo runs reliably, it can push a large chunk of coal off the grid. Poland cuts its carbon emissions, stabilises power supply and reduces dependence on imported gas. For France, a successful project strengthens the case for exporting components, services and training, not just reactor designs.
If schedules slip, Belfort still retains part of the upside. The skills developed for Lubiatowo can be redeployed to life-extension programmes at existing reactors or to other export projects. For workers on the shop floor, that continuity matters nearly as much as any single contract figure.
For readers trying to gauge the wider trend, Lubiatowo is less about one plant on a Baltic beach and more about a shift in industrial gravity. Nuclear projects are once again knitting together transatlantic partnerships and long-lived European factories, with Belfort’s turbines humming loudly at the centre of that story.
Originally posted 2026-03-10 07:46:38.