Russia’s Rosatom Wins Arbitration Ruling in Dispute Over Cancelled Finnish Nuclear Project

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Rosatom's logo, Russia’s state nuclear corporation.

Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Saturday that an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal had ruled in its favour in a long-running dispute with Finnish utility Fennovoima over the cancelled Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power project.

Rosatom said the tribunal had found that Fennovoima unlawfully terminated the contract for the construction of the planned nuclear power plant in northern Finland in 2022.

The two sides have been embroiled in legal disputes since Fennovoima abandoned the €7 billion ($7.8 billion) project in May 2022, citing significant delays and political risks. The decision came shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Rosatom said the tribunal had also concluded that the project was making good progress at the time the contract was terminated.

"Today's victory is important, but not final. We will continue to ‌prove ⁠that we are right regarding the Finnish project in courts of various instances," Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said in a statement.

The contract to build the 1.2-gigawatt plant was signed in 2013 with Fennovoima, a consortium originally two-thirds owned by Finnish stakeholders, including Fortum, Outokumpu and SSAB, through a joint venture. The Russian side held the remaining one-third stake.

Following the termination of the project, Fennovoima wound down its operations and is now primarily focused on legal proceedings.

Source: Reuters



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