Amentum's €95.7M Nuclear Cleanup Deal: Europe's Reliance on US Expertise

An American defence contractor has secured a €95.7 million deal to dismantle decades-old nuclear research facilities across Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, underscoring both the enormous technical challenge of Europe's Cold War atomic legacy and the commercial opportunities opening up as the continent attempts to clear the decks for its next-generation nuclear programme. The contract, awarded by the European Commission to Virginia-based Amentum, highlights a striking reality: as European governments race to restart their nuclear ambitions, the complex and lucrative work of cleaning up what came before is increasingly falling to American expertise.

Amentum, with roughly 50,000 employees globally, will lead a joint venture tasked with decommissioning research reactors, hot cells, laboratories and other radioactive infrastructure at four Joint Research Centre sites that have been operating for more than six decades. The contract runs for two years initially but includes three potential two-year extensions—meaning the actual value could stretch considerably beyond the headline figure if all options are exercised. The firm already employs 6,500 people across Europe on major nuclear projects including Britain's Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C reactors, France's ITER fusion project, and advisory work for the Polish and Dutch governments on new build programmes.

The economics of nuclear housekeeping

Decommissioning represents one of the less glamorous but more profitable corners of the nuclear industry. Whilst new reactor construction generates headlines and political theatre, the painstaking work of dismantling contaminated facilities, managing radioactive waste streams and navigating a web of national regulators offers steady, long-term revenue with relatively predictable margins. According to industry estimates, Europe faces a multi-billion euro bill for clearing legacy nuclear infrastructure built during the post-war atomic research boom.

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Europe faces a multi-billion euro bill for clearing legacy nuclear infrastructure built during the post-war atomic research boom

The four JRC sites covered by this contract—Ispra in northern Italy, Karlsruhe in Germany's Baden-Württemberg region, Geel in Belgium and Petten in the Netherlands—have spent decades conducting research into nuclear safety, safeguards and non-proliferation. That work has left behind a considerable cleanup burden involving highly specialised facilities where radioactive materials were routinely handled. Loren Jones, who heads Amentum's European energy and environment division, claimed the firm's track record made it "the ideal choice for this contract", citing prior work at the Ispra site and established relationships with EU regulatory authorities.

The joint venture includes WSP Italia as a major partner, alongside German technical inspection firm TÜV Rheinland and Italian specialist Protection Solution. The scope encompasses licensing, radiation protection, waste management, facility supervision and quality assurance—essentially every aspect of safely taking apart infrastructure that was never designed with decommissioning in mind. Research reactors and hot cells, in particular, present formidable technical challenges due to decades of neutron activation and contamination embedded in concrete and steel.

American dominance in a European market

Amentum's expanding European footprint raises questions about the continent's own capabilities in this sector. The company operates what it describes as the UK's largest privately-owned complex of nuclear laboratories and engineering test facilities, positioning itself as essential infrastructure for Britain's nuclear revival. Beyond the UK, it's advising Eastern European governments eager to reduce dependence on Russian nuclear technology.

This isn't unusual. American and Canadian firms have long dominated the international nuclear services market, leveraging experience gained from military programmes and decades of commercial reactor operations. French companies such as Orano and EDF subsidiaries compete in specific niches, but the scale and breadth of US contractors often proves decisive in major tender competitions.

Building Europe's atomic future increasingly depends on American contractors willing to clean up its radioactive past

For the European Commission, however, the contractor's nationality matters less than demonstrable competence. The JRC sites require specialists capable of working across multiple regulatory regimes, languages and technical standards whilst maintaining the exacting safety protocols demanded of nuclear work. Few European firms can claim comparable experience dismantling the full range of research infrastructure involved.

The contract's potential eight-year duration suggests the Commission anticipates a methodical, staged approach rather than rapid demolition. Regulatory approvals alone can consume years, particularly for facilities housing long-lived isotopes or materials subject to international safeguards agreements. Each structure requires detailed characterisation surveys, waste stream analysis and transport logistics before physical decommissioning can begin.

The timing is hardly coincidental. As countries including France, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK commit to substantial new nuclear capacity, clearing away Cold War-era research facilities becomes both practically necessary and politically expedient. These sites occupy valuable real estate and tie up regulatory resources whilst generating no power and serving limited research purposes. Amentum's success positions the firm to capture further European decommissioning work as additional research facilities and first-generation power stations reach end-of-life over the coming decade.

More articles by Ross Williams