Sweden began construction on Wednesday of a long-term storage site for spent nuclear fuel, aiming to solve a key challenge in nuclear energy: safely storing radioactive waste for 100,000 years. Located in Forsmark, 150 kilometers north of Stockholm, the facility is only the second of its kind in the world, following Finland's nearly completed storage site.
Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari highlighted the facility's critical role in advancing Sweden’s climate goals by supporting a nuclear-powered transition away from fossil fuels. “They said it wouldn't work, but it does,” she noted during the announcement.
Globally, about 300,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel await safe disposal, much of it stored in cooling ponds near reactors. The Forsmark repository will provide a permanent solution for Sweden's waste while demonstrating a path forward for other countries planning new reactors.
The Forsmark repository will comprise 60 kilometers of tunnels, buried 500 meters deep in 1.9-billion-year-old bedrock. It will house 12,000 tons of spent fuel encased in 5-meter-long copper capsules, designed to resist corrosion, and buried in clay for additional protection.
The repository, managed by Sweden's Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), will take its first waste in the late 2030s. It will close around 2080 after backfilling and sealing the tunnels. The project is estimated to cost 12 billion Swedish crowns ($1.08 billion), funded by Sweden’s nuclear industry.
Despite progress, the project faces opposition. MKG, an NGO focusing on nuclear waste, has appealed for further safety tests, citing research from Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology suggesting the copper capsules might corrode, risking groundwater contamination.
Linda Birkedal, MKG’s chair, stressed the need for thorough safety evaluations: “This has to be safe for 100,000 years. We have time to wait ten years to ensure it's done right.”
The repository will store all waste from Sweden’s current nuclear reactors but will not accommodate spent fuel from the 10 additional reactors Sweden plans to build by 2045. As global interest in nuclear energy grows, Forsmark serves as both a solution and a potential model for long-term radioactive waste management.
