Germany approves Rosatom-linked nuclear fuel production at Lingen plant

Germany’s Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment has approved the expansion of the nuclear fuel plant in the city of Lingen.

According to Die Zeit, the facility will use technology developed by TVEL, a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, to produce hexagonal fuel assemblies for Russian-designed nuclear reactors.

The plant is owned by Advanced Nuclear Fuels (ANF), a subsidiary of the French nuclear group Framatome. The expansion authorization allows the facility to manufacture fuel assemblies compatible with Russian-designed reactors.

Lower Saxony Environment Minister Christian Meyer criticized the decision, describing cooperation with Rosatom as “fundamentally the wrong” political choice. He argued that Germany should reduce its dependence on Russia, particularly in the nuclear energy sector.

According to Welt, the approval is subject to additional security conditions. Employees of TVEL and Rosatom will not be permitted to enter the facility. Equipment and software of Russian origin will undergo separate inspections and be isolated from the plant’s broader information technology infrastructure.

Fuel rods supplied from Russia will also be subject to comprehensive inspections before being used.

Germany backed sanctions targeting Russia’s nuclear sector in 2023. Before the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Russia was among the leading uranium suppliers to both the United States and the former Soviet republics that are now members of the European Union.

However, Eurostat data show that, in value terms, the European Union’s imports of nuclear fuel from Russia during the first four months of 2026 increased more than fivefold compared with the same period a year earlier.

About three years ago, Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) declined to grant Siemens Energy all of the export licenses required for gas-insulated switchgear that was to be supplied to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant being built by Rosatom in Türkiye.

Shortly before that, BAFA also blocked the shipment of certain equipment intended for the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary, which is likewise being constructed by Rosatom.