Finland grants Posiva operating licence for 6,500 tU used fuel repository
Amount permitted corresponds to about 3,300 canisters; final disposal is estimated to continue into the 2120s.
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Key facts
- Application filed December 30, 2021; STUK's positive safety assessment published August 4, 2026
- Plan is a maximum of 60 canisters a year once fully operational, per Posiva
- First operating licence granted for a used fuel repository worldwide, per the government
- Low and intermediate-level waste capped at 3,000 cubic metres, 1,500 of it for disposal
- First deposition hole drilled in August; 8.4 metres deep, 1.75 metres in diameter
Finland's government granted Posiva an operating license for the used fuel encapsulation plant and the Onkalo final disposal facility at Olkiluoto on October 23, 2026. It is the first used fuel repository to be granted an operating license.
The license allows Posiva to possess, process, store and dispose of a maximum of 6,500 tU of used fuel from TVO's Olkiluoto and Fortum's Loviisa plants. That quantity corresponds to about 3,300 disposal canisters. Once operations are fully established, Posiva plans to dispose of a maximum of 60 canisters a year. The license also covers low- and intermediate-level waste from the encapsulation plant and the facility and from operation and decommissioning of its shareholders' nuclear facilities, up to 3,000 cubic meters, of which no more than 1,500 cubic meters may be designated for final disposal. It permits limited disposal of certain other radioactive waste and nuclear materials generated in Finland, including waste from healthcare and research institutions.
Start awaits STUK inspection
Posiva may not start operating the facility before STUK conducts the inspection required under section 20 of the Nuclear Energy Act. Posiva said the license does not imply an immediate start to production operation; it will finish commissioning tests and inspections that STUK must verify and approve, and gave no detailed schedule for start-up. Posiva must submit a periodic safety assessment and an updated long-term safety justification to STUK within ten years. Posiva estimates final disposal will continue until the 2120s, after which the repository will be backfilled and closed and responsibility for the used fuel will transfer to the State.
Posiva applied in December 2021
Posiva applied on December 30, 2021, for an operating license covering March 2024 to the end of 2070. STUK published its safety assessment on August 4, saying the facility met the safety requirements set in the Nuclear Energy Act and Decree and that there was no obstacle to granting the license on radiation and nuclear safety grounds. The government's decision followed that opinion. The Eurajoki site was selected in 2000; the government granted a construction license in November 2015 and construction started a year later.