The draft budget for 2027 provides four billion euros for investments in the energy sector. Behind this is apparently the purchase of Urenco shares that RWE and E.ON want to get rid of. The federal government wants to prevent other buyers from taking advantage.

According to reports from theWORLDand theSouth German newspaperThe federal government appears to want to acquire a third stake in the nuclear technology group Urenco (Uranium Enrichment Company). So far, a third has belonged to Great Britain and the Netherlands, with the last third owned jointly by the energy companies E.ON and RWE. The federal government would probably take over the shares of the energy companies. For the two companies, the sale would be an exit that they have been striving for for several years.

The nuclear technology group is divided into two business areas and is primarily known for its centrifuge technology. These were initially only sold to the enrichment groups' own enrichment groups, but for some time now this technology has also been made available globally. The Urenco enrichment group is used to enrich uranium. There are currently three locations in Europe. These include Capenhurst in the UK, Amelo in the Netherlands and Gronau, the only facility in Germany. There is only one location in the US in Eunice, New Mexico.

Nuclear submarines for Britain

Urenco has been a thorn in the side for RWE and E.ON since Germany's nuclear phase-out. The fuel element manufacturer is no longer of use to the two companies due to the exit. RWEdesignatedthe investment itself as a “pure financial investment without involvement in the operational business”, and E.ON had been planning the sale for a long time.

What is new is the reason why the federal government should now take action. Urenco no longer only supplies uranium for civilian reactors, but is also reportedly supplying uranium for British reactorsNuclear submarinesdelivery. When Urenco was founded, it was ultimately stipulated that London would be allowed to use the company's products for military use. This does not seem to be about nuclear weapons, but rather about possible nuclear propulsion for submarines.

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Enrichment technology is therefore becoming a security policy issue. The apparently planned entry should therefore probably take place for geostrategic reasons. The federal government would also prevent another buyer from taking over a third of RWE and E.ON.Criticsfrom the environmental sector see this as a “nationalization within the framework of military ambitions”, while the government has not yet commented on the project.

Military interest

Below 20 percent is referred to as low-enriched uranium. This is internationally considered the limit for civilian use. According to international definitions, uranium at levels above 20 percent is considered capable of producing nuclear weapons. Urenco wants to increase the enrichment level in the USA from 5 to 19.75 percent and market the product as “HALEU” in order to get the technical maximum out of it and still stay below the threshold.

If the 20 percent mark is exceeded, the uranium is considered highly enriched, making the step towards weapons-grade material significantly smaller. This makes strict controls necessary, for example byInternational Atomic Energy AgencyandEuratom. For the Gronau site, the controversial question is how reliably the civil and military uses of the uranium enriched there can be separated in the future.

Impact on social cuts

The entry in the resolution of the 2027 federal budget came more or less as a surprise. Under theSection“Investments in companies” states that “an additional four billion euros should go to the acquisition and holding of investments in companies in the energy sector”. Additionally, “cuts are being faced elsewhere.”

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“While the federal budget is fighting for every euro in the social sector, the federal government is planning 4 billion euros for the nationalization of a nuclear company,” criticizes Matthias Eickhoff from the Münsterland Action Alliance against Nuclear Facilities. According to thestudy“Consolidation at the expense of women”, which was commissioned by the German Women's Council, the planned cuts in health, care, housing benefit, childcare and maintenance advances add up to 8.4 billion euros. Five billion of these relate to benefits that are predominantly received by women.

Matthias Eickhoff also sees a danger in the fact that the federal government is now participating directly or indirectly in the nuclear arms race. This is a policy “with unforeseeable consequences”. “We therefore urgently demand that uranium enrichment in Germany be stopped,” said Eickhoff.

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