Key facts
- Finland's government granted Posiva an operating license for the Onkalo nuclear waste repository.
- The Onkalo site will store spent nuclear fuel in canisters 400 meters underground.
- The facility is designed to safely store hazardous materials for 100,000 years.
- The repository will store up to 6,500 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel.
- The site uses a multi-barrier defense system, including copper canisters and bentonite clay.
Posiva, the company responsible for Finland's Onkalo facility, has received an operating license from the government for the world's first permanent nuclear waste repository. Located in Eurajoki, the site will encapsulate radioactive spent nuclear fuel in copper canisters designed for 100,000 years of safe storage 400 meters underground within ancient crystalline bedrock. The facility employs a multi-barrier defense system, including bentonite clay, to isolate the waste. Once operational, it will store up to 6,500 tonnes of spent fuel, with an anticipated maximum capacity of 3,300 canisters to be reached by the 2020s.