A ground-breaking ceremony has taken place marking the start the construction of Sweden’s final repository for used nuclear fuel in Forsmark, in Östhammar municipality, according to radioactive waste management company Svensk Kärnbränslehantering (SKB). The ceremony was attended by Minister for Climate & Environment Romina Pourmokhtari. The final repository will be ready for disposal in the 2030s, and will be fully extended in the 2080s.
SKB, which is owned by the Swedish NPPs, has been researching and developing technology for the geological final disposal of Swedish nuclear waste for more than 40 years. In autumn 2024, SKB received an environmental permit and an enforcement order from the Land & Environmental Court, which means that work could begin.
“This is a historic day for the Swedish nuclear waste programme. We’re taking an important step and breaking the ground for a final solution for used nuclear fuel,” said SKB CEO Stefan Engdahl. Construction of the repository will take ten years before disposal can begin, after which it will be gradually extended over a long period. The ground-breaking marks the start of two years of preparatory work above ground, including the construction of a rock mass storage and water treatment plant, a bridge over the cooling water canal and forest clearing. After that, work will begin in the bedrock.
The final repository will be located at a depth of around 500 metres in rock that is 1.9bn years old. It is planned to hold approximately 12,000 tonnes of used fuel in 6 000 canisters. The surface section will cover a total area of 24 hectares. When fully extended, the repository will contain more than 60 kilometres of tunnels.
SKB applied in 2011 to the Land & Environmental Court in Nacka district court for permission to dispose of used fuel and radioactive waste. The court held a hearing in 2017 and submitted its opinion to the government in 2018. The government decided in January 2022 that the activity was permissible according to Sweden’s Environmental Code.
. Before SKB can start tunnelling, an approved safety report from the Radiation Safety Authority (SSM – Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten) is required. SSM will continue the step-by-step examination of the final repository according to the Act on Nuclear Activities. Construction of the repository will begin two years before the associated encapsulation facility in Oskarshamn, as the construction times are of different lengths. Both facilities are expected to be put into operation in the mid-2030s.
The permit for the repository applies to radioactive waste from the 12 reactors (six reactors in operation) that are part of the ongoing Swedish nuclear power programme. It does not apply to waste from a possible new nuclear power programme.
