Exclusive: Reaction from Siemens Regarding Delayed Nuclear Plant Export License

As we reported earlier, the German government continues to block Siemens Energy’s delivery of the control system for the new reactor units at the Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary. The German company’s consortium partner, the French company Framatome, has already received approval.

Hungary Today contacted Siemens Energy directly to find out what the company thinks of the German government’s obstruction of the delivery and received the following answer from Oliver Sachgau, spokesman for Siemens Energy:

“We feel fundamentally bound by existing contracts from 2019 and have applied to the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control for the export licenses required to fulfill our obligations in the Paks II project. The license is still pending, and we cannot say when it will be issued. The primacy of politics applies to us not only in this specific case, but also as a matter of principle. Of course, this also means that we comply with the existing sanctions regulations.

On the background to our “role” in Paks II:
Siemens Energy is the only supplier with a system that can prove qualification and certification according to European norms and standards as well as according to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Siemens Energy itself has not been represented in the so-called “hot” nuclear technology for more than a decade; already in 2011, Siemens AG had announced its withdrawal from nuclear power. However, Siemens Energy is still represented in the so-called operational control technology (“control systems”).“, wrote Siemens Energy’s spokesman.

Legally, the control system is a dual-use technology, which is why, under the current European regulatory environment, the competent national export authority must approve its civil use.

Featured photo: Facebook Siemens Energy

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