German authorities on Wednesday gave the green light to a controversial French-Russian nuclear project which will use a factory based in Germany for production, and which critics fear will enable spying and sabotage by Moscow.
Issued on: 23/07/2026 - RFI
Germany's Lingen plant has its own legal status and licences.
AFP - INA FASSBENDER
The planned joint venture by a subsidiary of French company Framatome and Russia's state-owned nuclear power agency Rosatom will produce fuel rods used in Russian-designed reactors – at Framatome's fuel rod assembly facility in the town of Lingen in the German state of Lower Saxony.
Germany closed the last of its own nuclear reactors in 2023, but has not abolished all nuclear-related industrial activity.
The Lingen fuel plant is treated as a separate facility with its own legal status and licences.
The state's environment ministry said in a statement on Wednesday it had "decided to approve" the project, adding that “so far, Russia’s nuclear sector and the import of Russian uranium into the EU have not been subject to sanctions, despite Putin’s criminal war of aggression against Ukraine".
Rosatom has been exempted from the successive rounds of European Union sanctions imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Kyiv-based Dixi Group, a think tank that focuses on energy, warned against the cooperation in 2024, urging the Lower Saxony government to deny Framatome permission to expand its production facility in Lingen.
Dixi, along with German anti-nuclear organisations – including AgiEL, a group that focuses on Lingen’s nuclear facilities – is warning of "potential risks to Germany’s nuclear and internal security, particularly concerning Rosatom’s possible access to critical infrastructure".
Roderich Kiesewetter, a prominent member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU party, said the federal government should intervene to prevent the project in Lingen from going ahead.
The decision by Lower Saxony was "dangerous to security and must be reversed," Kiesewetter told the Politico news site.
Germany is Ukraine's biggest backer in its war with Russia and has been on high alert for signs of "hybrid warfare" directed by Moscow.
(with newswires)
The planned joint venture by a subsidiary of French company Framatome and Russia's state-owned nuclear power agency Rosatom will produce fuel rods used in Russian-designed reactors – at Framatome's fuel rod assembly facility in the town of Lingen in the German state of Lower Saxony.
Germany closed the last of its own nuclear reactors in 2023, but has not abolished all nuclear-related industrial activity.
The Lingen fuel plant is treated as a separate facility with its own legal status and licences.
The state's environment ministry said in a statement on Wednesday it had "decided to approve" the project, adding that “so far, Russia’s nuclear sector and the import of Russian uranium into the EU have not been subject to sanctions, despite Putin’s criminal war of aggression against Ukraine".
Rosatom has been exempted from the successive rounds of European Union sanctions imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Kyiv-based Dixi Group, a think tank that focuses on energy, warned against the cooperation in 2024, urging the Lower Saxony government to deny Framatome permission to expand its production facility in Lingen.
Dixi, along with German anti-nuclear organisations – including AgiEL, a group that focuses on Lingen’s nuclear facilities – is warning of "potential risks to Germany’s nuclear and internal security, particularly concerning Rosatom’s possible access to critical infrastructure".
Roderich Kiesewetter, a prominent member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU party, said the federal government should intervene to prevent the project in Lingen from going ahead.
The decision by Lower Saxony was "dangerous to security and must be reversed," Kiesewetter told the Politico news site.
Germany is Ukraine's biggest backer in its war with Russia and has been on high alert for signs of "hybrid warfare" directed by Moscow.
(with newswires)
South Korean-US Partnership For Floating SMR Platform
July 23, 2026
By World Nuclear News
Key Takeaways:
Focus on US and Global Markets: The collaboration covers development, licensing, construction, and deployment strategies, with emphasis on meeting US and international regulatory standards amid rising electricity demand from AI data centers and coastal/island regions.
Builds on Prior Certification: The partnership leverages Samsung Heavy’s 2025 Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping for a floating platform using two KAERI SMART100 SMRs, with adaptability for other SMR designs.
South Korean shipbuilding company Samsung Heavy Industries announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with USA-based engineering firm Sargent & Lundy for the development of a standardised floating small modular reactor platform.
Under the MoU, Samsung Heavy Industries and Sargent & Lundy (S&L) plan to develop a standard floating small modular reactor (FSMR) platform for multiple reactor types “thereby providing versatility to enable the installation of various types of reactors and offering flexible options to shipowners and customers”, Samsung Heavy Industries said. In addition, the two companies agreed to cooperate in key stages of loating small modular reactor commercialisation, such as development, licensing support, construction planning, and sea area deployment strategies, in order to visualise the early commercial deployment of the loating small modular reactor standard platform.
“Furthermore, we plan to improve the technical completeness of FSMR to meet changing international and US regulatory standards,” Samsung Heavy Industries said. “This agreement targets the global market, including the United States, and is expected to be a key step in advancing the FSMR project, currently at the conceptual design stage, to the actual commercial deployment stage.
“With the recent surge in electricity demand across all industries alongside the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres, it is attracting attention as an effective energy infrastructure for coastal island regions where securing onshore production sites is difficult or power grid connectivity is limited.”
“The collaboration between S&L and Samsung Heavy Industries on FSMR development will be a significant step forward for the future of clean energy in the United States,” said Shiven Sulkar, Chief Nuclear Officer (Vice President) of S&L. “We expect that the combination of S&L’s nuclear engineering leadership and Samsung Heavy Industries’ proven offshore platform expertise will accelerate the development of FSMRs tailored to the US market and provide power utility companies, coastal states, and federal agencies with a flexible pathway for nuclear power adoption.”
Kim Kyung-hee, Head of Samsung Heavy Industries’ Future Business Division, added: “Cooperation with S&L, a global leader in nuclear power plant design and engineering, will be a milestone that takes Samsung Heavy Industries’ FSMR technology to the next level. We will accelerate the advancement of FSMR technology, a next-genration growth engine, to lead the global offshore nuclear power market.”
Samsung Heavy Industries received Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping in December 2025 for a floating marine nuclear power platform featuring two SMART100 small modular reactors developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Under the certification process, Samsung Heavy Industries was responsible for the integration of the SMRs with the floating structure, the overall design of the nuclear power generation facilities, and the development of a multi-barrier reactor containment system. KAERI, meanwhile, adapted the land-based SMART100 SMR for offshore applications.
Although the Approval in Principle granted by the ABS is for a floating platform incorporating two SMART100 reactors, Samsung Heavy Industries said at the time that the concept can be adapted so that different SMR designs can be used.
About World Nuclear News
World Nuclear News is an online service dedicated to covering developments related to nuclear power. Established in 2007, WNN has grown rapidly to welcome over 40,000 individual readers to the website each month, while its free daily and weekly emails both reach more than 16,000 people. These figures represent a broad audience that includes not only nuclear professionals but also journalists, researchers, opinion leaders, policy-makers, and the general public.
View all posts by World Nuclear News →
July 23, 2026
By World Nuclear News
Key Takeaways:
Samsung Heavy Industries Partners with Sargent & Lundy: The South Korean shipbuilder signed an MoU with the US engineering firm to jointly develop a standardised floating small modular reactor (FSMR) platform, enabling flexibility for multiple reactor types and supporting early commercial deployment.
Focus on US and Global Markets: The collaboration covers development, licensing, construction, and deployment strategies, with emphasis on meeting US and international regulatory standards amid rising electricity demand from AI data centers and coastal/island regions.
Builds on Prior Certification: The partnership leverages Samsung Heavy’s 2025 Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping for a floating platform using two KAERI SMART100 SMRs, with adaptability for other SMR designs.
South Korean shipbuilding company Samsung Heavy Industries announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with USA-based engineering firm Sargent & Lundy for the development of a standardised floating small modular reactor platform.
Under the MoU, Samsung Heavy Industries and Sargent & Lundy (S&L) plan to develop a standard floating small modular reactor (FSMR) platform for multiple reactor types “thereby providing versatility to enable the installation of various types of reactors and offering flexible options to shipowners and customers”, Samsung Heavy Industries said. In addition, the two companies agreed to cooperate in key stages of loating small modular reactor commercialisation, such as development, licensing support, construction planning, and sea area deployment strategies, in order to visualise the early commercial deployment of the loating small modular reactor standard platform.
“Furthermore, we plan to improve the technical completeness of FSMR to meet changing international and US regulatory standards,” Samsung Heavy Industries said. “This agreement targets the global market, including the United States, and is expected to be a key step in advancing the FSMR project, currently at the conceptual design stage, to the actual commercial deployment stage.
“With the recent surge in electricity demand across all industries alongside the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres, it is attracting attention as an effective energy infrastructure for coastal island regions where securing onshore production sites is difficult or power grid connectivity is limited.”
“The collaboration between S&L and Samsung Heavy Industries on FSMR development will be a significant step forward for the future of clean energy in the United States,” said Shiven Sulkar, Chief Nuclear Officer (Vice President) of S&L. “We expect that the combination of S&L’s nuclear engineering leadership and Samsung Heavy Industries’ proven offshore platform expertise will accelerate the development of FSMRs tailored to the US market and provide power utility companies, coastal states, and federal agencies with a flexible pathway for nuclear power adoption.”
Kim Kyung-hee, Head of Samsung Heavy Industries’ Future Business Division, added: “Cooperation with S&L, a global leader in nuclear power plant design and engineering, will be a milestone that takes Samsung Heavy Industries’ FSMR technology to the next level. We will accelerate the advancement of FSMR technology, a next-genration growth engine, to lead the global offshore nuclear power market.”
Samsung Heavy Industries received Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping in December 2025 for a floating marine nuclear power platform featuring two SMART100 small modular reactors developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Under the certification process, Samsung Heavy Industries was responsible for the integration of the SMRs with the floating structure, the overall design of the nuclear power generation facilities, and the development of a multi-barrier reactor containment system. KAERI, meanwhile, adapted the land-based SMART100 SMR for offshore applications.
Although the Approval in Principle granted by the ABS is for a floating platform incorporating two SMART100 reactors, Samsung Heavy Industries said at the time that the concept can be adapted so that different SMR designs can be used.
About World Nuclear News
World Nuclear News is an online service dedicated to covering developments related to nuclear power. Established in 2007, WNN has grown rapidly to welcome over 40,000 individual readers to the website each month, while its free daily and weekly emails both reach more than 16,000 people. These figures represent a broad audience that includes not only nuclear professionals but also journalists, researchers, opinion leaders, policy-makers, and the general public.
View all posts by World Nuclear News →
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