Swiss utility BKW on 7 September bought a small German nuclear services company Dienstleistungen fuer Nukleartechnik GmbH (DfN), hoping to see increased revenue from the decommissioning of European nuclear plants. BKW plans to dismantle its Muehleberg NPP after closing it in 2019. DfN’s services include verifying that components removed from nuclear facilities are no longer radioactive.
"Germany has many decommissioning projects either underway or in the works with the planned or already completed shuttering of nuclear power stations," BKW said in a statement. "That will open significant growth potential for DfN in the area of radiation protection services," it said. BKW, which did not give a price for the deal, has worked with DfN since it was founded in 2009 on radiation protection for the Muehleberg station, the Bern-based utility said. DfN's head, Martin Herzner, will continue to run the unit.
BKW's DfN, with 22 employees, is small compared with E.ON's 650 staff at its PreussenElektra decommissioning unit and GE Hitachi's 3,000 employees.
French water and waste giant Veolia has also entered the nuclear dismantling and decommissioning market in recent years, and France's EDF is moving into the sector after its acquisition of Areva NP.
