S’ally with the enemy… To better free yourself from it? While Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron are escalating bellicose remarks against a backdrop of war in Ukraine, the agreement concluded between their respective nuclear champions, the French Framatome and the Russian Rosatom, is fueling controversy in Germany, where the plant is located in which Framatome will tomorrow assemble, under Russian license, the fuel intended to power Soviet-designed reactors in Eastern European countries.
Thousands of opponents have expressed their anger, while the German Federal Ministry of the Environment is due to announce its decision in mid-May. A very political controversy in a country which has chosen to abandon nuclear power, and which reveals the extent of the energy dependencies in which both Europe and the United States have been locked, forced, since the start of the war, to deal with Moscow to avoid the blackout, and the closure of their factories. “The avenues allowing us to free ourselves from these dependencies will obviously be discussed in Brussels” where a Nuclear Summit is being held on March 21, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, confirms the Élysée.
In this context, the very discreet creation last year of a joint venture (or “joint venture”) between Framatome and Rosatom has reignited controversies… And misunderstandings.
Nineteen Russian-designed reactors
Although Germany closed its last reactor in 2023, the country still produces nuclear fuel at the Lingen plant in Lower Saxony, which supplies part of Europe. Only a part: in addition to the Ukrainian reactors, 19 other reactors of the VVER type, that is to say of Russian design, are still active in five countries of the Union: Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland and Hungary. However, the fuel rods they use, although they “are not very different from those of French pressurized water reactors (PWRs”), assures Framatome, are hexagonal in shape, and not rectangular… Until very recently, no one other than Rosatom knew how to build them
“This situation of dependence on Russia has worried many countries for years,” confides to Point Lionel Gaiffe, Vice-President of the Fuel Business Unit at Framatome. The American Westinghouse began to seriously consider the subject in 2014, after the invasion of Crimea – and managed, in 2023, to produce a fuel of its design, capable of powering VVER reactors.
The first “pencils” were delivered last September to Ukraine. Framatome launched its own project in 2018 – too late to hope for finalization before 2030, with each new fuel having to go through a long authorization process. The rise in tensions with Russia is guiding a new strategy: “Our customers who depend on Russian deliveries could not wait, they need a reliable, safe and operational solution as quickly as possible,” explains Lionel Gaiffe. In short: which is based on a proven fuel and does not require obtaining new approval from their safety authorities…
Breaking the monopolies
In 2021, before the outbreak of war, Framatome concluded an agreement with Rosatom aimed at setting up a joint venture, the establishment of which was finalized in January 2023: VVER fuels will be manufactured at the Lingen plant, under Russian license, the French also ensures access to a stock of components. At the same time, Framatome is accelerating its work to offer its own design tomorrow. “Our customers have told us clearly: they do not want to move from a Russian monopoly to an American monopoly. The European Commission supports this project, which maintains competition in Europe and allows a 100% European and sovereign solution,” assures Lionel Gaiffe.
Opponents of the project cite a “risk of sabotage and espionage” by the Russian partner, and ask the federal state and the Land to stop everything… “Unfounded rumors,” says Lionel Gaiffe, who confirms that No Russian personnel will be present on site during manufacturing. “The Framatome factory will continue to operate with 100% German Framatome personnel,” he assures. 8 million euros would have been credited to develop the Linden factory, according to the Bloomberg agency. And the license would bring in “a few tens of millions for Rosatom over several years”, according to a source informed of the matter. “A drop in the ocean, in a sector that generates billions…”
Named EHF for “European Hexagonal Fuel”, the new company (Franco-Russian) is seen as a step on the path to true sovereignty… A path still strewn with obstacles, which will be at the heart of the discussions this March 21, in Brussels .
