Germany approves Framatome to produce licensed nuclear fuel assemblies involving Russia at its northern plant.

Under the guidance of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of the Environment of the German state of Lower Saxony has approved an application from a subsidiary of the French company Framatome to manufacture nuclear fuel assemblies at a plant in northern Germany. The project involves the use of Russian licenses and technology, with the resulting fuel assemblies primarily intended for the Eastern European market and for use in nuclear power plants equipped with Russian-designed reactors.

The application underwent rigorous scrutiny by German authorities. The Federal Ministry for the Environment stated that, although the government is critical of cooperation with Russian state-owned enterprises, there were no legal grounds under current German nuclear law to reject the application; consequently, approval was granted subject to specific conditions.

Framatome welcomed the decision, stating that the authorization helps strengthen European energy security, supports industrial autonomy, and offers nuclear power operators in Europe safer and more diversified fuel supply options. The company described the technical cooperation with the Russian side as a transitional arrangement aimed at helping customers operating Russian-designed reactors reduce their reliance on direct nuclear fuel procurement from Russia, pending the completion of Framatome's own production technology development.

The project involves licensing and technical arrangements with the Russian fuel company TVEL and the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. German authorities attached several risk-control requirements to the permit, including a ban on personnel from TVEL or Rosatom entering the relevant facilities and a mandate for external safety audits of equipment and fuel rods originating from Russia.

A spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs stated that the European Union has not yet reached a consensus on extending sanctions against Russia to the nuclear energy sector, and Germany continues to push for discussions on the matter.