Rosatom not worried about Siemens move

VIENNA, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Russian nuclear power company Rosatom says it isn't worried about its partner, German engineering conglomerate Siemens, opting to leave the nuclear industry.

Siemens in 2009 signed a memorandum of understanding to help the Russian company launch ambitious expansion plans that included building up to 400 nuclear plants around the world by 2030.

The German company was to play a key role in Rosatom's efforts to recruit Asian and Latin American countries reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation into the nuclear power club.

But those plans fell off the table when Siemens Chief Executive Officer Peter Loscher told the German weekly Der Spiegel that his company, like the German government, is abandoning the nuclear industry.

"The chapter is closed for us," Loscher told the weekly. "We will no longer be involved in managing the building or financing of nuclear plants."

Loscher, only two years after hailing nuclear power's "renaissance" as a potential $1.5 trillion opportunity, said Siemens would get out of the business because of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan, as well as "German society and politics' clear position on ending nuclear energy."

That has left Rosatom without a key partner in its expansion plans. But its officials said this week they understand Siemens' move and aren't concerned about its implications.

Rosatom CEO Sergei Kiriyenko, speaking to Itar-TASS at the 55th general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said his company and Siemens will continue cooperate in other ways, such as in radiation medicine.

The Russian and German firms had achieved "a high level of confidence that the Russian side is not going to lose," Kiriyenko said, adding, "Our partnership will be developing but it will not encompass cooperation in nuclear energy."

The Rosatom leader said Russia followed "two basic principles" in its joint venture with Siemens.

"One principle is the nuclear energy market is a global market and the right strategy on it is a strategy of open partnership and alliances. For us, this logic remains the same, we'll keep moving on.

"The other principle is that cooperation is to be maintained with highly professional companies and we are committed to partnerships and alliances with the leaders only."

Uranium mining, enrichment, fuel manufacturing, power generation and scientific research remain on the table for future joint ventures, he said.

Despite the Siemens setback, Rosatom's other foreign contracts haven't been affected by Fukushima, the Financial Times reported.

China, for instance, has forged ahead with plans to buy two reactors from Rosatom to expand its Tianwan plant, while the Russian company has also signed an agreement with the Britain's Rolls-Royce to cooperate on nuclear power, the newspaper said.

Although the Germany government's decision to phase out nuclear power by 2022 and public unease about the technology may have been the trigger for Siemens' decision, doubts about the sustainability of the "nuclear renaissance" had crept in before that.

Delays and cost overruns at prominent nuclear projects, such as France's Flamanville reactor and Finland's Olkiluoto plant, have left serious questions about their financial viability.

India this week postponed a final decision on the purchase of six new nuclear reactors from the French company Areva until after post-Fukushima nuclear safety tests on France's EPR-type reactors is completed, The Hindu reported.