Nagra publishes license applications for Swiss geologic repository
Nagra, Switzerland’s national cooperative for the disposal of radioactive waste, has published its general license applications for a deep geologic repository and separate spent fuel encapsulation plant, making the documents publicly available on a digital platform.
Nagra first submitted the license applications for the repository at Nördlich Lägern and encapsulation plant in Würenlingen to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy in November 2024. After being asked to revise and clarify several details, Nagra resubmitted its applications to the federal authorities on June 19.
Nagra CEO Matthias Braun said that publication of the applications, two years earlier than legally required, is intended to facilitate debate on the project. “It is important to us that all interested parties can study the application today and without time pressure, which is why we are publishing the documentation now,” he said.
The general licenses define the basic features of the projects and include safety and environmental impact reports. Swiss federal authorities will undertake a technical review of the applications and, if approved by the government, a referendum may be held on the final licenses, which according to Nagra would take place around 2031.
Background: The Swiss government began its search for a geological repository in 2008, looking at the whole of the country. By 2018, it was decided that three sites should be investigated for further study: Jura Ost, Zürich Nordost, and Nördlich Lägern, located in northern Switzerland near the German border.
Nagra determined that all three siting regions were capable of hosting a repository but that Nördlich Lägern was the most suitable with the best overall safety reserves. According to the cooperative, the area’s 174-million-year-old Opalinus clay offered the greatest thickness (around 100 meters), the most favorable hydrogeological conditions, an uncomplicated geological profile (e.g., no fault lines), and the best protection against erosion.
In September 2022, Nagra announced that it had formally selected Nördlich Lägern as the repository site. The cooperative also announced plans to build a spent fuel encapsulation plant at the Zwilag interim storage facility in nearby Würenlingen. As the Zwilag facility has been in operation for years, this solution is expected to offer organizational and ecological advantages.
The repository will be designed to hold 2,500 cubic meters of high-level radioactive waste, including spent nuclear fuel, and 100,000 cubic meters of low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste.
Next steps: Conducting the technical review of the applications are the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Commission, and experts from the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency. According to Nagra, Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment and Federal Office for Spatial Development, along with the host cantons (Aargau and Zürich) and affected regions, including Germany, are also invited to comment. The review is expected to take two years to complete.
Following an opinion from the reviewing authorities and a three-month public consultation period, a decision will be made on the licenses by the Swiss Federal Council, followed by a vote by the Swiss Parliament. Finally, in the event of a referendum, the citizens of Switzerland will vote on whether to approve the project.
