NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH (NUKEM), specializing in radioactive and hazardous waste management and the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, has announced the closing of its acquisition by Tokyo-based Muroosystems Corp. This follows the signing of the purchase agreement in May. Muroosystems acquired the company from the insolvency administrator of NUKEM’s previous German parent, NUKEM Technologies GmbH.
The decision to sell NUKEM was made in 2022 due to the challenging geopolitical landscape and the complexities of operating under Russian ownership. Subsequently, extensive negotiations took place with potential buyers.
NUKEM Technologies GmbH is a nuclear engineering and consulting company managing radioactive waste and used fuel and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The company is located in Alzenau, Germany. It was established in 2006 as a subsidiary of NUKEM Energy. In December 2009, NUKEM Technologies was sold to Russia’s Atomstroyexport (part of Rosatom) for €23.5m ($25.4m) and transferred in 2019 to Rosatom fuel company TVEL.
In April it filed for insolvency under self-administration and was under creditor protection, saying the challenges the company was facing were “attributable to the deteriorating business environment due to the ownership structure following the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022”. It noted that efforts at a sale could not then be finalised “mainly due to legal uncertainties related to the Russian ownership and the permissibility of such an acquisition”.
NUKEM said completion of this acquisition by Muroosystems heralds a new beginning. “This transition allows NUKEM to re-enter markets that were previously inaccessible under the former ownership structure, ensuring that the company’s expertise and long-standing experience can once again be fully leveraged.”
As part of the closing process, all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained and commitments to third parties have been diligently fulfilled. The effective date of the economic transfer of the company to the new owner was 25 September.
Thomas Seipolt, Managing Director of NUKEM, said: “With Muroosystems, we will continue to build on our strong foundation in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management while seeking new growth opportunities. We are particularly excited about expanding into innovative areas like nuclear fusion technology, which aligns with the global shift toward sustainable energy solutions.”
Nobuaki Ninomiya, Executive Board Member of Muroosystems Corp noted that NUKEM’s headquarters in Karlstein am Main are located on the site of Germany’s first NPP. “The plant’s decommissioning and the restoration of the site to its current state were both successfully carried out by NUKEM,” he said. “By integrating advanced technologies with our expertise in IT, we will create new synergies that will boost our competitiveness in developing next-generation energy solutions. In the future, we plan to solidify our business base in Europe and actively expand into the Asian market.”
Muroosystems said that, in addition to enhancing technologies for radioactive waste management and decommissioning of nuclear facilities, it will also focus on “the development of next-generation clean energy utilising TRISO technology”. The company announced it also plans to establish a new R&D centre in the Hama-dori region in Fukushima Prefecture “to promote research and development with the aim of expanding Japanese nuclear technology overseas”.
