Accelerating the search for a repository for high-level radioactive waste is necessary in light of intergenerational equity, the long-term safety of people from high-level radioactive waste, the trust of citizens in the procedure and confidence in the public institutions involved in the process.

BASE considers a faster search procedure to be feasible

In BASE’s view, an acceleration of the current search procedure is therefore not only necessary, but also feasible. To this end, BASE has now submitted specific proposals to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). These include changes to the implementation of the procedure as well as to the Site Selection Act (StandAG) itself, but are compatible with its fundamental principles.

According to BASE, the aim of the acceleration proposals should be to develop a binding timetable, including milestones, for all parties involved in the search process, enabling a safe site to be identified by around 2050.

Current studies by BASE (in German) also show that a large majority – around 70 percent – of the German population supports the ongoing search for a repository for high-level radioactive waste. At the same time, understanding among a substantial portion of the population for a solution beyond the middle of the 21st century is clearly declining. Against this backdrop too, BASE regards a prompt yet safe solution for nuclear waste disposal as essential.

BASE recommendations for accelerating the repository search:

• The site regionsidentified at the end of Phase I should be limited to a maximum of six.
• Preparatory work for mining law permitting procedures should be more closely aligned in time with the submission of the site region proposal.
• Exploratory work should be permitted year-round through legislative adjustments.
• Modern exploration methods and drilling technologies should be used for underground exploration instead of, as stipulated by law, constructing complete exploratory mines.
• Based on this, Phases II and III of the site selection process could be merged.
• Exploration and access rights for BGE as the project developer for the repository search should be facilitated.

From BASE’s perspective, these measures offer the greatest acceleration potential, ranging from several years to decades. At the same time, they are generally the most complex and, due to their long-term implications, should be integrated into the process at an early stage so that they can unfold their full impact.

Public participation also plays a central role in the submitted acceleration proposals in helping to avoid further project risks and should remain an integral part of all phases in any modified procedure.

In a preliminary assessment report from 2022, the federally owned company BGE, which is responsible for the search for a repository, suggested that the year 2046 could be achievable—provided that key decisions in the procedure were altered. The evaluation by BASE fundamentally supports this timeframe, even though certain procedural steps still require clarification in terms of their specific implementation.

The BMUV has announced that, after reviewing the report now submitted, it will work with BASE and BGE to identify and implement potential ways to accelerate the procedure.

The full response from BASE, with more in-depth reflections on these and other acceleration potentials, can be found in the attachment below.