Lower Saxony approves Framatome fuel assembly project using Russian technology

Lingen – 23 July 2026: Lower Saxony has approved the expansion of the fuel assembly plant in Lingen operated by Advanced Nuclear Fuels GmbH (ANF), a subsidiary of the French nuclear group Framatome. Hexagonal fuel assemblies of Russian design may now be manufactured there. The decision was published on Wednesday, 22 July 2026, by Lower Saxony’s Ministry for the Environment on behalf of the federal government and has triggered considerable political criticism because of the planned cooperation with Russian state-owned companies.

ANF had applied to produce pressurized-water reactor fuel assemblies under licence for reactors of Soviet or Russian design. Cooperation with TVEL, a subsidiary of the Russian state corporation Rosatom, is planned. According to the ministry, the products are intended for markets in Eastern Europe. The facility in Lingen, in the Emsland region near the Dutch border, is part of Framatome’s German site network.

The state authority said it could not lawfully refuse the approval following an updated assessment of the security situation by federal authorities. During the process, questions concerning possible espionage, sabotage and external security risks had previously been examined. The Federal Environment Ministry had voiced political reservations about cooperation with a Russian state corporation, but also referred to the legal requirements under nuclear law.

The permit is tied to extensive security conditions. Employees of TVEL, Rosatom or persons commissioned by these companies are generally not allowed to enter the plant premises. Exceptions are possible only in narrowly defined cases and under the supervision of the responsible regulatory authority. The approval now published therefore contradicts the assumption that Russian specialists could work regularly at the factory.

Machines, hardware and software from the TVEL sphere must also undergo external security reviews. The relevant systems must remain technically separated from the fuel assembly plant’s other IT and operational networks. Fuel rods supplied from Russia and containing gadolinium must additionally be fully inspected using active and passive scanners. The four-eyes principle applies to these checks.

In addition, ANF must regularly train its employees on the risks of possible espionage and sabotage activities. Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Christian Meyer described the Russian involvement as politically wrong, while also stressing that the licensing authority was bound by the federal government’s assessment. The ministry published the full decision before its formal announcement in the Federal Gazette, which is decisive for its legal validity.

The project therefore provides Framatome with a legal basis, while the political controversy continues. Critics see the cooperation with Rosatom as a security and dependency risk against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The authorities, by contrast, emphasize that the approval has specifically been linked to technical, personnel-related and organizational safeguards and that the decision is based on a current federal security assessment.