AkademikerPension in Denmark has blacklisted a US company for being linked to the production of nuclear weapons outside the EU, along with three Chinese firms on the same grounds, it announced today.
The DKK185bn (€24.7bn) labour-market pension fund, which covers people with an academic education, said that following a meeting of its responsible investment committee, four companies had been placed on the exclusion list.
The firms are Amentum Holdings in the US; alongside China CSSC Holdings; China Isotope & Radiation Corp and China National Nuclear Power Co.
A spokesman for AkademikerPension told IPE the pension fund had divested DKK5.4m of shares in Amentum as a result of the decision, but had not been invested in any of the three Chinese companies.
Amentum is connected to production of nuclear weapons for the US arsenal, he said, while the three Chinese companies are linked to production of the controversial arms for the Chinese arsenal.
Jens Munch Holst, AkademikerPension’s chief executive officer, said: “Our responsibility policy prohibits us from investing in companies that produce controversial weapons, including components or services that are essential for the function of nuclear weapons outside the EU.”
“And data shows that these four companies all do this,” he said.
The Danish pension fund’s action to ban companies involved in the production of US nuclear weapons while allowing investment in firms involved in European nuclear weapons is a result of a decision by its board last June that European weapons manufacturers would no longer be excluded due to links to nuclear weapons.
“This has been done to support European defence and resistance, for example, in relation to the protection of critical infrastructure,” the pension fund stated.
Munch Holst made it clear in June 2025 that the pension fund would continue to exclude all weapons manufacturers associated with non-European nuclear weapons programmes – including the US one.
At the time he cited the prevailing security situation, which he said was “worse than ever in recent times” with Russia continuing its brutal war against Ukraine.
“And at the same time, we can see that, despite many talks with the American government, Europe is very isolated when it comes to Ukraine, European security policy, maintaining democracy and relations with Russia,” he said in June 2025, adding: “This is sad, and it calls for a new course in terms of investments in Europe’s defence.”
IPE has asked Amentum, China Isotope & Radiation Corp and China National Nuclear Power Co for comment, but was unable to contact China CSSC Holdings.
