Fennovoima wins a net 606 million euros despite unlawful contract termination
Arbitration found that Finland’s Fennovoima was not entitled to terminate its nuclear-project contract with Rosatom. The company nevertheless said the award required repayment of advances, leaving a net 606 million euros plus interest owed by Rosatom subsidiaries. Both sides highlighted different parts of the decision, while other proceedings continue over the cancelled project.
Economics & Markets··Morning
Advance repayments outweigh the offsetting claims
Finland’s nuclear-project company Fennovoima said arbitration left Rosatom subsidiaries owing it a net 606 million euros plus interest. The award required the return of advance payments and interest exceeding 1 billion euros, according to Fennovoima. The smaller net amount reflects the offsetting of the parties’ claims. Both Fennovoima and Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom confirmed that the tribunal found the Finnish company was not entitled to terminate the contract.[1], [2]
The cancelled project dates back to a 2013 contract
The contract signed in 2013 covered a 1.2-gigawatt nuclear station worth approximately 7 billion euros. Finnish shareholders held two-thirds of the joint venture and the Russian side one-third. Finnish participants included Fortum, Outokumpu and SSAB. Fennovoima cancelled the project in May 2022, citing construction delays and political risks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It subsequently wound down operations and concentrated on legal proceedings.[1]
Other proceedings remain open
Rosatom chief executive Alexey Likhachev described the decision as an important step while pointing to cases continuing elsewhere. Fennovoima also said several parallel arbitration proceedings remained underway. The International Chamber of Commerce, whose tribunal handled the dispute, did not answer Reuters’ request for comment. The financial amounts therefore remain Fennovoima’s account of the award. Neither company announced that the payment had already been made.[1]
