Poland's Lubiatowo Nuclear Plant Gives Belfort a €1–2bn Arabelle Contract

Warsaw is at last moving beyond coal and has committed to its first nuclear power station. That decision has put a factory in eastern France back at the heart of Europe’s energy landscape, bringing a contract valued at well above a billion euros and an opportunity to demonstrate that the continent still has a functioning nuclear supply chain.

Poland moves from coal power to nuclear energy

Coal and lignite powered Poland’s electricity system for decades. More than 70% of the country’s electricity was generated by burning them in 2022. By mid-2025, that proportion had fallen below 50% for the first time, as gas, renewable energy and increasing carbon costs took their toll.

The country is now making a more decisive shift. In early January 2026, Poland’s government confirmed that its first commercial nuclear power plant would be built at Lubiatowo on the Baltic coast. Three US-designed AP1000 reactors supplied by Westinghouse will be installed at the site.

American nuclear technology will anchor the project, but the machines that actually turn heat into electricity will be French‑built.

Poland has chosen Arabelle Solutions of Belfort, eastern France, to supply the station’s steam turbines. Located on the nuclear plant’s “conventional” side, downstream of the reactor, these enormous rotating machines transform steam first into mechanical energy and then into electrical power.

A €1–2bn agreement for three vast turbines

The agreement includes three Arabelle steam turbines, each with an electrical output of about 1,200 megawatts. Once all three units are operating, currently expected from 2033 onwards, they will together generate enough electricity for several million households.

No formal contract value has been published. However, drawing on comparable recent schemes, industry analysts estimate that the complete turbine “island” package is worth between €1bn and €2bn, with €1.5bn regarded as the central estimate.

Each turbine island for a large reactor now likely costs between €400m and €600m, reflecting tighter safety rules and higher engineering demands.

Arabelle’s responsibilities extend beyond the turbines. Its work covers the complete steam turbine island, including condensers, generators, auxiliary equipment and the intricate mechanical connections between the plant’s conventional and nuclear islands.

What the Belfort site will produce

• Design and manufacture of three 1,200 MW Arabelle steam turbines
• Production of generators and condensers for each unit
• Integration of auxiliary systems and control interfaces
• Engineering support and supervision during installation and commissioning

The equipment will all be designed, machined and assembled in Belfort before being transported to the Baltic coast. Its engineers will collaborate closely with Westinghouse to ensure the French turbine system is compatible with the US AP1000 reactor design.

The unsettled history of a French nuclear champion

The turbines now sold under the Arabelle name draw on more than a century of industrial heritage. Their origins lie with Société Rateau, established in 1903, which became an important supplier during France’s nuclear expansion from the 1970s. By the close of the 20th century, Rateau’s successor businesses had supplied large steam turbines across the entire French nuclear fleet.

Developed in Belfort, the Arabelle name came to signify exceptionally high output and long operating lives. Many of these machines remain in service after decades of near-continuous use.

That history took a different course in 2014, when Alstom sold its power operations, including the Arabelle range, to General Electric. Although the French state approved the transaction, it prompted intense arguments about industrial sovereignty. A crucial component of France’s electricity system had moved under US corporate ownership, albeit subject to certain state protections.

Control returned to France in 2024. EDF, the state-backed French utility, acquired the steam turbine operation for about €175m and renamed it Arabelle Solutions. The purchase restored the technology to public control and placed it squarely within France’s national nuclear strategy.

The Polish deal is the first major export contract for Arabelle Solutions since its return to the EDF fold, and a key test of its renewed ambitions.

The business now has around 3,300 employees, operates in approximately 16 countries and manufactures the Arabelle-1700 in Belfort, one of the most powerful nuclear steam turbines ever made.

Belfort’s industrial revival and the jobs involved

The Lubiatowo deal is expected to sustain nearly 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in Belfort and the surrounding area over several years. The work will cover advanced engineering, welding, heavy machining, automation, quality assurance and logistics.

The area has experienced the energy industry’s fluctuations through restructuring, uncertainty and concerns about deindustrialisation. A nuclear contract covering several reactors alters those prospects: order books grow, apprenticeships become worthwhile again and smaller Bourgogne-Franche-Comté subcontractors obtain a clearer view of future workloads.

Recent major projects involving Arabelle turbines

Country	Project	Role	Main equipment	Timeline
Poland	Lubiatowo (AP1000)	New build supplier	3 × 1,200 MW steam turbines	2026–2035
UK	Hinkley Point C (EPR)	Engineering & commissioning	Arabelle turbines for twin EPRs	2024–2030
France	Existing 56-reactor fleet	Major maintenance and upgrades	Turbogenerators, replacements	2024–2040
China	Taishan 1 & 2 (EPR)	Long-term technical support	Arabelle EPR turbines	Ongoing

This portfolio is significant for Belfort because it combines export orders with domestic maintenance activity. That balance smooths out industrial cycles and supports the retention of highly specialised expertise over the long term.

A message for Europe’s nuclear sector

The Polish contract has implications that reach well beyond Belfort and Warsaw. It sends a strong signal in a European market where new nuclear developments frequently drift towards South Korean or Chinese rivals.

In this case, a US reactor design is coupled with a French turbine at a Polish location. The scheme illustrates that a transatlantic-European partnership can still succeed in competitive tenders where it can offer financeable technology and a dependable supply chain.

Without exporting a single reactor, France is exporting the hardware that makes nuclear electricity saleable: the high‑efficiency turbine at the heart of the power block.

For Poland, selecting a US reactor alongside a French turbine also fulfils another aim. It distributes political and industrial interests among several allies, potentially helping to protect the project against future geopolitical strains or changes in government.

What the steam turbine island does

The reactor attracts most public attention, but a nuclear station only makes money through its conventional island, where thermal energy is converted into electricity.

At the Lubiatowo project, the process works as follows:

• The reactor core heats water, creating high-pressure steam.
• The steam passes over the blades of the Arabelle turbine, causing a huge shaft to rotate at high speed.
• That shaft drives an alternator, which produces electricity for the grid.
• Steam leaving the turbine enters a condenser, where it is cooled and converted back into water.
• Pumps return the water to the reactor circuit, beginning the cycle once more.

The turbine island must extract every possible kilowatt-hour from each kilogram of steam while operating almost continuously for 40 to 60 years. Even modest efficiency improvements can generate substantial additional revenue during a reactor’s lifetime.

Risks, advantages and possible failures

Poland’s choice offers substantial advantages. Large nuclear units can deliver low-carbon baseload electricity, support a grid with increasing renewable generation and lessen dependence on imported gas. For a country still heavily reliant on coal and seeking to meet EU climate targets, this combination is appealing.

There are still risks. European experience indicates that nuclear megaprojects regularly face budget overruns and programme delays. Managing an American reactor supplier, a French turbine manufacturer and Polish contractors will place pressure on project management, local capabilities and political resolve.

Transporting oversized equipment from Belfort to the Baltic coast also creates logistical difficulties, involving specialist haulage, restricted clearances and planning many years in advance. A delay anywhere in the supply chain could affect the whole timetable.

From an industrial perspective, however, the agreement provides powerful reasons to deliver. Belfort’s employment, EDF’s strategy and Poland’s climate credibility all depend on the three turbines operating on schedule in the early 2030s.