BGE – the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal
The Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) is a Federally-owned company that is responsible, on behalf of the Federal government, for the disposal of radioactive waste deep underground. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) is the sole shareholder of the BGE on behalf of the Federal government. In July 2016, the BGE was founded through a merger of the repository divisions of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) as well as the operating companies known as Asse-GmbH and the Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern für Abfallstoffe (DBE). Its headquarters are located in the town of Peine, Lower Saxony.
Tasks and projects
As part of its responsiblity for the disposal of all kinds of radioactive waste, the BGE is searching for the site that offers the best possible safety for a million years for high-level radioactive waste in Germany in accordance with the requirements of the Repository Site Selection Act (StandAG).
The BGE is currently building the Konrad repository in Salzgitter. Due to enter operation in the 2030s, this facility will be the first repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste to be licensed under nuclear law in Germany. Before waste is emplaced, the BGE’s product control department will check the delivered containers, whether the radioactive waste is packaged according to the applicable disposal conditions, and whether the waste is held in approved containers.
Furthermore, the BGE is tasked with the retrieval of the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste which is currently disposed of in the Asse II mine, and subsequently with closing the former repository.
The BGE is also preparing for the decommissioning of the Morsleben repository in Saxony-Anhalt, as well as the decommissioning of the Gorleben mine in Lower Saxony. It informs the general public on all its projects, work and progress – for example on its websites bge.de and einblicke.de (German only), in publications, at conferences and events, and on social media.
More Information
Organisation Tasks Management Board Supervisory Board International collaboration Karriere Our SitesContact
Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE)
Eschenstraße 55
31224 Peine
Phone: 05171 43-0
Fax: 05171 43-1218
E-Mail: dialog(at)bge.de
The projects of the BGE
Repository search
Asse II mine
Konrad repository
Morsleben repository
Product control
Gorleben mine
Managing Board
The BGE is represented by three managing directors: Iris Graffunder (Chair of the Management Board), Marlis Koop (Labour Director) and Dr. Thomas Lautsch (Technical Managing Director). The Managing Board of the BGE is advised and monitored by the Supervisory Board, which is appointed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) for a period of four years.
International collaboration
Other companies abroad – e.g. in Switzerland, France, Sweden or Finland – are also charged with siting and constructing safe repositories for nuclear waste. Collaboration with organisations and authorities outside Germany allows the BGE to closely follow the state of the art of science and technology at the international level. For example, the BGE is represented at the technical level in various committees of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The BGE exchanges information on the state and application of knowledge and technology in national and international cooperation projects and engages in research projects at the national and international level.
Brief Summary
- The BGE is responsible for the disposal of radioactive waste in Germany
- It was founded in July 2016
- The BGE exchanges information with other experts in national and international cooperation projects
- The BGE participates in research projects at the national and international level