Rosatom wins arbitration ruling against Finland’s Fennovoima

An international arbitration court at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has ruled in favor of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom in its dispute with the Finnish company Fennovoima. The court determined that Fennovoima’s unilateral decision to cancel the Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant project in 2022 was illegal.

The Hanhikivi-1 project, located in northern Finland, was a massive undertaking valued at approximately 7 billion euros. It was intended to feature a 1200 MW capacity unit designed to meet about 10 percent of Finland’s electricity needs. Fennovoima terminated the agreement in May 2022, citing political risks and delays following the Russian military offensive in Ukraine.

Rosatom stated that the tribunal found work was progressing “satisfactorily” at the time of cancellation. While the ruling is a significant victory for the Russian firm, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev noted that the company intends to continue litigation in other instances to fully defend its interests.