Germany seeks a site for radioactive waste repository, has so far ruled out half its territory

Although Germany has shut down all of its nuclear power plants, the country has still not resolved the question of a future repository for radioactive waste. This includes not only spent nuclear fuel, but also radioactive waste from research projects and industrial processes. Germany’s Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal recently published a report on the ongoing process, which also includes a map of areas already surveyed.

Finding a site for a permanent deep geological repository for radioactive waste is an issue not only in the Czech Republic, but in a number of European countries. Germany is no exception. Although it has closed all the nuclear power plants on its territory, it still has a large volume of spent fuel. For low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, for example from industry and healthcare, Germany has chosen a site at the former Konrad iron ore mine. The search for a site for high-level waste, however, is still under way.

According to the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE), around 95% of radioactive waste originates from research or the operation of nuclear power plants. A third of this volume consists of waste from research and decommissioned nuclear power plants dating from the era of the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. The remaining two thirds come from the operation of Germany’s nuclear power plants.

Original plans met with public opposition

According to Clean Energy Wire, BGE began searching for a site for a permanent deep geological repository in 2017. Original plans, such as building a repository at Gorleben, were abandoned because of protests by local residents and groups. BGE therefore began looking for new sites, on the basis that any location with suitable geological conditions could be a potential site.

According to Iris Graffunder, chair of BGE’s management board, the company will now publish a regular report every year. This will allow the public to follow the progress of the search for a site for a permanent repository for radioactive waste in Germany.

"Regular publications will allow everyone in Germany to see that BGE is on track to meet its plan by the end of 2027. We can and must find a site for a permanent repository by the middle of the century. We owe it to the people who live in regions with interim storage facilities," said Steffi Lemke, Germany’s environment minister.

BGE is expected to complete the first phase of the site-selection process by 2027 and submit its report to the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management. The report is to include a list of sites selected for the second phase of the process. According to the outlet, Germany currently stores high-level waste at a total of 16 interim storage facilities. Under the original plans, the country was to select a site for a permanent repository by 2031, but in 2022 BGE pushed the deadline back to 2046.