Germania: operatore di impianti di energia nucleare insolvente – Controversia sui costi di demolizione

*The THTR in Hamm-Uentrop was shut down in 1989. Demolition is scheduled to begin in 2030. However, there is disagreement about the costs, which run into the billions. Now the operating company is insolvent.*

Hamm – The operating company of the Hamm-Uentrop nuclear power plant, which has been shut down since 1989, is insolvent. Hochtemperatur-Kernkraftwerk GmbH (HKG) has filed an application with the competent insolvency court in Dortmund to open insolvency proceedings. This was made public by the local court on Tuesday. Taxpayers now face the prospect of a billion-pound bill. The demolition of the power plant, which is planned to take place over ten years from 2030, will cost several hundred million pounds.

The operating company, backed by the energy group RWE and several municipal utilities, had previously demanded that the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia cover the costs of dismantling, disposing of and storing the radioactive material. However, a lawsuit to this effect failed in 2024 before the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The appeal was dismissed by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court in June 2025. ‘This means that HKG is still faced with the situation of unresolved financing for the completion of the research project that was once initiated and promoted by the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia,’ HKG managing director Volker Dannert is quoted as saying in Wirtschaftswoche. He therefore felt compelled to file for insolvency.

**‘Suitable solutions’ are to be developed**

Hammer’s legacy involves a great deal of money. Originally, €350 million was earmarked for this purpose, but in 2021, the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament officially spoke of total costs of €753 million. In the meantime, a figure in the billions is being circulated.

The local court appointed lawyer David Bunzel from the law firm Husemann & Partner as provisional insolvency administrator. ‘The aim of the proceedings is to continue the orderly decommissioning of the nuclear power plant by establishing and maintaining the operation of the so-called safe enclosure and to ensure the planned dismantling (…)’, according to a press release from the law firm.

**Five shareholders are behind HKG**

HKG has five shareholders. One of them is Mark E Aktiengesellschaft, which holds 26 per cent of the shares. Mark E is a subsidiary of Enervie, in which the city of Lüdenscheid holds a 24.12 per cent stake. 14.16 per cent of the shares are distributed among Altena, Plettenberg, Halver, Schwerte, Kierspe, Herdecke, Schalksmühle and Herscheid. Other shareholders in HKG are RWE Nuclear GmbH, Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Weser GmbH & Co. OHG, Gemeinschaftswerk Hattingen GmbH (WSW Wuppertaler Stadtwerke GmbH, RWE Power Aktiengesellschaft) and Stadtwerke Aachen Aktiengesellschaft.

At the start of the preliminary proceedings, a comprehensive overview of the overall economic situation will be provided and the focus will be on stabilising business operations. ‘In consultation with all parties involved,’ ‘suitable solutions’ will then be developed. The wages and salaries of the operating company’s employees are secured under the preliminary proceedings.

**More than €440 million for safe confinement**

The reactor near the A2 motorway was only online for a few months, but it is incurring immense costs. Since its decommissioning, €441 million has been spent on safe confinement. The federal government contributed €133 million, the state €152 million and the shareholders of HKG €156 million.

It remains unclear who will ultimately bear the costs of demolition. HKG shareholders do not feel obliged to do so. HKG Managing Director Dannert points to the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, saying that no stone has been left unturned in negotiations with the parties to the framework agreement to avoid filing for insolvency. ‘However, as these talks have so far been unsuccessful, it is now up to the authorities responsible for nuclear energy at federal and state level in North Rhine-Westphalia to organise the further processing,’ said Dannert.

The North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs made it clear from the point of view of the nuclear regulatory authority: ‘The nuclear safety of the THTR is not affected by the insolvency; it continues to be guaranteed.’ If HKG is no longer able to implement the necessary measures itself, the supervisory authority will intervene with so-called substitute measures. As a precautionary measure, the state has concluded a framework agreement with a qualified specialist company that can take over measures at any time.

The financial problems are not limited to other industries either: the world market leader for automotive locking systems from North Rhine-Westphalia has filed for insolvency. 700 employees in Germany are affected.

**Translated with DeepL**

Nuclear will not pay for its own cleanup, and these problems will be dumped on our grandchildren and their grandchildren.