The German Federal Corporation for Repository (BGE) has significantly narrowed the regions being investigated for a potential nuclear waste repository, communicating on Tuesday that only less than five percent of Germany’s territory remains under consideration. This announcement marks the final status update before location regions are formally proposed for exploratory work by the end of next year.
Previously, in 2025, roughly 25 percent of Germany’s area was part of the review process. The regions still being examined are located across South Germany, East Germany, as well as in the northern and northwestern parts of the country. The ultimate objective of this search is to identify a site that provides the “best possible safety” for the handling of highly radioactive waste.
Iris Graffunder, CEO of the BGE, confirmed that the corporation is maintaining the rigorous, scientific timeline despite the complexity of the repository search. She added that the BGE plans to continue refining the potential areas until the end of 2027, at which point only a limited number of location regions will be shortlisted for exploration.
