Siemens reconsiders nuclear ambitions
0 
German engineering giant Siemens is reconsidering its plans to become a major player in the nuclear power industry amid heightened global safety concerns in the wake of Japan's atomic crisis.
Though top executives at the firm have not yet come to a decision, they are having second thoughts about the company's two-year-old commitment to partner with Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear company, people familiar with the deal said. The Russian joint venture has been a focal point of the Germany company's nuclear ambitions since it cut off its cooperation with France's Areva in 2009.
The deliberations at Siemens underscore the gravity of new concerns about nuclear power stirred up by the accident at the Japan's tsunami-battered Fukushima Daiichi plant, which have upended previous expectations of a global nuclear renaissance.
While nuclear industry competitors such as General Electric and Westinghouse Electric have remained optimistic about the future of atomic power, Siemens officials have given cooler assessments of the technology's prospects in public comments over the last few weeks.
"Fukushima has to be an occasion for taking stock [of atomic energy]," Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser told German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
"The world has to do some soul-searching," he added.
The Japanese nuclear tragedy comes just as Siemens is looking to revitalize its atomic power business.
The firm joined its nuclear division with France's Areva about a decade ago as demand for new plants came to a screeching halt in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. But in 2009, as rapid growth in energy-hungry emerging markets such as China and India stimulated strong demand for new reactors, Siemens pulled out of the joint venture, complaining its minority stake did not afford it sufficient control of the business.
Shortly thereafter, the German firm began negotiating a partnership to produce nuclear reactors with Rosatom. Those efforts, however, seem to have come to a dead-end as governments around the world have put the brakes on nuclear plans for a second time.
Analysts predict Siemens will not take a serious loss if it calls off its partnership with Rosatom, but note it is unlikely the company will shut down its nuclear reactor business entirely due to long-term contracts to supply and service nuclear projects worldwide.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments