TOWARDS AN "IMPLEMENTING GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM" IN EUROPE

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1 Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management ICEM2009 October 11-15, 2009, Liverpool, UK ICEM TOWARDS AN "IMPLEMENTING GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM" IN EUROPE P. Marjatta Palmu Posiva Oy, Research Olkiluoto, Eurajoki, Finland Torsten L. Eng Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB P.O. Box 250, Stockholm, Sweden ABSTRACT Several European waste management organizations have started the work on creating a technology platform to accelerate the implementation of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste in Europe. There is an increasing consensus in the international community [1] about geological disposal as the preferred option for solving the long-term management of spent fuel, high-level waste, and other long-lived radioactive wastes. At the same time, the European citizens [2] have a widespread wish for a solution for high-level radioactive waste disposal. A majority of the European countries with nuclear power have active waste management programmes, but the current status and the main challenges of those programmes vary. The most advanced waste management programmes in Europe (i.e. Sweden, Finland and France) are prepared to start the licensing process of deep geological disposal facilities within the next decade. Despite the differences between the timing and the challenges of the different programmes, there is a joint awareness that cooperation on the scientific, technical, and social challenges related to geological disposal is needed, and the cooperation will be beneficial for the timely and safe implementation of the first geological disposal facilities. Such a demonstration of a viable solution for the management of highlevel radioactive waste will enhance stakeholder confidence in Europe. Several decades of research, development and demonstration (RD&D) have been carried out in the field of geological disposal. International opportunities of cooperation and establishing a technology platform were explored in the European Commission co-funded projects like Net.Excel [3] and CARD [4]. According to the CARD project, the majority of the funding for RD&D in waste management comes from the implementing organizations. It is envisaged that a technology platform would enhance European cooperation in this area. The platform intends to constitute a tool for reducing overlapping work, to produce savings in total costs of research and implementation, and to make better use of existing competence and research infrastructures. After the final workshop of the CARD project in 2008, SKB (Sweden) and Posiva (Finland) were committed to lead the preparation work to set-up the Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform (IGD-TP). Other implementers from France, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain, and Belgium joined en suite. A Vision Document for the IGD-TP is about to be finalized after a wider consultation was carried out in July The final Vision Document and the platform are launched during November Simultaneously, the preparation of the Strategic Research Agenda for the technology platform's joint work starts. Keywords: Geological Disposal, technology platform, spent fuel, high-level waste. 1. INTRODUCTION The Technological Platform concept was introduced by the European Commission in 2002 [5]. It was aimed to be a tool to develop a common vision and a strategic research agenda with short- and medium term objectives for implementation. The ambition is to bring together research and developmentrelevant stakeholders with various backgrounds (e.g. regulatory bodies at various geo-political levels, industry, public authorities, research institutes and the academic community, the financial world, and civil society) who would develop a long-term research and development strategy in areas of research needed in Europe. In the technology 1 Copyright 2009 by ASME

2 platform the stakeholders jointly develop and commit to a common Vision and a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). After these are developed, the stakeholders start to implement the SRA with the aim to improve European competitiveness in the areas of Research and Technological Development (RTD) stated on the agenda and needed to achieve the shared vision. The first step in the process of setting up a technology platform (Fig. 1) is that interested stakeholders start formulating a common vision. This vision is expressed in a Vision Document (VD), which is then consulted and shared by as many stakeholders in the industry or area of RTD as possible. Based on this vision, stakeholder organisations commit their resources to make the technology platform happen. Europe. The aim of this paper is to describe the developments that have taken place until now; to show the connections of the Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform (IGD-TP) to other related technology platforms; and to discuss the way forward of this platform by sharing information on the process for stakeholders interested in joining it. 2. EC'S SET-PLAN, IMPLEMENTING GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM (IGD-TP) AND OTHER RELATED TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET- PLAN) was published in 2007 [7] and it outlines the vision of Europe's energy future of a diverse portfolio of clean, efficient and low carbon energy technologies. In this energy mix, one aim is to maintain competitiveness in fission technologies, together with long-term waste management solutions. The Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform (IGD-TP) is in line with the EC strategies and its goals to implement waste management solutions in Europe as a part of the SET-PLAN. Moreover, IGD-TP is not only beneficial for the safe implementation of the first deep disposal facilities but also for the waste programmes with longer implementation time frames. Fig. 1 A three-stage process for establishing European Technology Platforms [6] This vision development process is followed by creating a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). This agenda may include both short-term and long-term RTD objectives for the technology platform. Like the Vision Document, also this document is consulted and published. After the Strategic Research Agenda is agreed, a Deployment Plan (DP) is produced outlining how the research and other support activities needed to implement the SRA will be organised, funded and carried out by the technology platform and its members. In the beginning of 2009, thirty six (36) European Technology Platforms (ETPs) have been set up. If a technology platform meets a set of specific criteria defined by the EC, then a technology platform can get the status of a European Technology Platform. Several European waste management organizations have started the process to create a technology platform to accelerate the implementation of geological disposal in The IGD-TP's objectives are in parallel with the objectives of a few other technology platforms like the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNE-TP) ( and European Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants (ZEP) ( which both also aim at contributing to Europe's low carbon energy technologies. 3. HISTORY OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND THE ORIGIN OF THE IMPLEMENTING GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM For 40 years, the Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) work has been carried out in deep geological disposal for radioactive waste. The nature of the RD&D has been cooperative from the very beginning and typically the waste management organisations (WMO's) or organisations responsible for waste management programmes have funded the work. 2 Copyright 2009 by ASME

3 In the European framework programmes FP1-FP6 a significant amount of European funding totalling 340 million Euros has been granted to tens of research projects in this field. Most current examples of successful partnering projects are the FP6 projects ESDRED and NF-PRO that have been recently completed. International cooperation in RD&D in geological disposal has a long history. For example, the international and bilateral cooperation in the Nordic countries has continued and strengthened over decades ever since the first international cooperation project STRIPA in the 1980s. SKB and Posiva have a formal cooperation agreement for carrying out joint research, development, design and manufacturing programmes and projects since During the first contractual cooperation period over 80 successful cooperative projects in bilateral and in partly international cooperation were carried out. This provided these WMOs extensive experience in putting joint actions into practice. Further international projects have been carried out in European underground research facilities like Äspö, Bure, Hades, Grimsel and Mont Terri by these and other WMOs. The beginning of the IGD-TP can be traced to the FP5 Net.Excel project ( ), which identified over 100 topics of common or partially common interest in the RD&D related to the management of spent fuel, high-level and other long-lived radioactive wastes. However, transferring the wide amount of interesting topics into workable collaborative projects was found to be a challenge. A new FP6 project CARD ( ) continued the work by carrying out a questionnaire study on the feasibility of setting up a technology platform in the field of deep geological disposal. The responses received to the CARD questionnaire from eleven European Members States were encouraging. The results were confirmed at the consultative CARD final workshop in Brussels with about 60 participants. The workshop participants presented different stakeholder groups in the geological disposal community i.e. implementers (agencies, waste management organisations), the European Commission, research organisations and research centres, authorities, technical safety and support organisations, regulators and universities. It was also envisaged that a technology platform would enhance European cooperation in the areas where work still remains: to optimise the solutions and to move results from laboratories and pilot-facilities to industrial scale. The IGD-TP was seen as a means of pooling resources in RD&D to increase efficiency of European resource usage in human resources, infrastructures, and funding by reducing overlapping work done in different waste management programmes. 4. WORKING TOGETHER TO PRODUCE A SHARED VISION FOR THE IMPLEMENTING GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM Implementers consisting of waste management organisations from Belgium (ONDRAF/NIRAS), Finland (Posiva), France (ANDRA), Great Britain (NDA), Spain (ENRESA), Sweden (SKB), and Switzerland (Nagra) and of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BWMi) are now carrying out and funding the work for establishing the Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform (IGD-TP). After the final workshop of the CARD project in 2008, SKB and Posiva took the lead to maintain the momentum by funding the work and committing resources to developing a Vision Document for the IGD-TP. The group's first meeting took place in June 2008 including also two other organisations responsible for disposal of spent fuel and high-level waste; ANDRA from France and Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BWMi) from Germany together with the representatives of EC DG RTD and DG TREN. Thus an interim drafting team for the IGD-TP Vision Document was formed consisting of Monica Hammarström, Peter Wikberg, and later Torsten Eng from SKB; Marjatta Palmu and Juhani Vira from Posiva; Gerald Ouzounian from ANDRA and Siegfried Köster from BWMi. In addition, the drafting team was assisted by Göran Bäckblom from Conrox AB from Sweden, Wernt Brewitz from TU Braunschweig and Walter Steininger from FZK PKTA-WTE from Germany. In connection with the Euradwaste '08 conference ( euradwaste2008_en.html), the interim results on the Vision Document preparation were presented to the members of the CARD project and an information session was held for other interested stakeholders on the technology platform's progress. Expressions of Interest from the CARD project members were solicited. By the beginning of 2009, eight organisations had committed to work together as their country's contact points in the IGD-TP development work. The four new organisations joining the work to produce the vision were ONDRAF/NIRAS from Belgium, ENRESA from Spain, Nagra from Switzerland and NDA from the United Kingdom. Also after the Euradwaste '08 conference an Interim Executive Group (IEG) was formed consisting of SKB, Posiva, ANDRA and BWMi. The IGD-TP Vision Document draft [6] was finalised for broader consultation in May After the consultation, its results will be incorporated into the Vision Document, which will then be finalised and published. 3 Copyright 2009 by ASME

4 Also a grant proposal coordinated by Posiva was submitted to the EC in April 2009 for financing the European dimension of the work of the IGD-TP Secretariat. differences in the national contexts, disposal concepts, and programme timelines. 5. THE SHARED VISION, MISSION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE IGD-TP Our vision is that by 2025, the first geological disposal facilities for spent fuel, high-level waste, and other longlived radioactive waste will be operating safely in Europe [6]. The mission of the technology platform is to be a tool to support the confidence-building in the safety and implementation of deep geological disposal solutions. 6. ORGANISATION OF IGD-TP The basic structure of the organisation proposed for the technology platform includes an Executive Group that is supported by a Secretariat and a forum for exchange of information and discussion on RD&D needs, as well as results, in relation to implementation of deep geological disposal. The organisation, which is described in Fig. 2, forms a starting point for the platform organisation, which evolves over time. The platform will develop a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) i.e. the means of working together, and a detailed Deployment Plan (DP). The IGD-TP will facilitate access to expertise and technology, interact with the stakeholders, and communicate the results to the benefit of all of Europe. Extensive RD&D work has been carried out for decades showing the feasibility of deep geological disposal. But for implementing the first corresponding disposal facilities a limited amount of scientific and technical challenges still remains. The objectives of the technology platform that connect to these remaining challenges are: to define, prioritise, initiate, and carry out European strategic initiatives that will facilitate the stepwise implementation of safe, deep geological disposal of spent fuel, high-level waste, and other long-lived radioactive waste by addressing the remaining scientific, technological and social challenges; and to support the waste management programmes in Europe. In the process of formulating the shared vision, mission and objectives of the technology platform, the participants found the production of the shared vision and the Vision Document to be important tools for overcoming some of the practical challenges that had been faced in the previous projects, where they had attempted to prioritise areas for collaborative RD&D activities. It is now obvious that the priorities and joint collaborative actions are difficult to agree upon without having a good mutual understanding of the shared vision. Without the vision, the focus of the development work becomes too oriented on individual technical details related to the deep geological disposal concepts and solutions. With an existing vision, the participants are better able to work together despite the Fig. 2 Organisation of the technology platform based on the CARD project's recommendation All stakeholders endorsing the vision of IGD-TP are welcome to join the platform at the Launch Event or later by application. 4 Copyright 2009 by ASME

5 Exchange Forum The potential Exchange Forum members are all stakeholders in Europe (industry, research and academia, technical safety organisations, non-governmental organisations) willing to contribute positively and constructively to the objectives and goals of the platform, such as establishing and implementing the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and the accompanying Deployment Plan (DP). The participants' responsibilities include information exchange to and from the platform on the SRA and related RD&D needs, providing written recommendations to the Executive Group, and participation in the consultation of the SRA and the DP. They are also asked to identify and provide resources for the working groups. Executive Group The Executive Group (EG) is the decision making and management forum of the platform. The technology platform will be implementer-driven. Members of the EG will be organisations either being responsible for implementing a waste management programme or being formally responsible for the RD&D programme needed for implementation. In addition, research organisations with significant autonomous budgets and/or available funding that can contribute to the work of the technology platform are foreseen to have an advisory role to the EG. The EG members' responsibilities are to take decisions and steer the different tasks of the platform; to prioritize activities and projects (to be funded jointly) for deployment; to initiate, monitor, and evaluate activities; to fund the Secretariat (equal division); to approve the SRA and DP; to establish working groups; to encourage information exchange with Mirror groups including regulators; and to develop reports and information to the Exchange Forum. Secretariat The Executive Group appoints the Secretariat, whose responsibilities are to further develop means and ways of working together on the topics identified in the Strategic Research Agenda of the IGD-TP and its working groups and exchange fora; to support the finalisation and publication of the SRA and DP of the IGD-TP; to organise and coordinate the activities of the IGD-TP; to develop a procedure and to handle the applications of the new members to the platform; to contribute to that the IGD-TP is organised in an appropriate manner to achieve the committed vision according to the timeframes set in the Vision Document, in the finalized SRA and in its DP; and to act as an information and communication centre about the activities of the IGD-TP and on developments in the waste management community. The Secretariat maintains a public website at where information and documents about progress, future and past events are published; supports the exchange of information among the committed members and other exchange forums; and fosters consultation and cooperation on projects with the stakeholders. The Secretariat reports to the Executive Group. Working Groups Working Groups will be established within the IDG-TP's working programme. These groups will have specified mandates such as development of the SRA, and development of supporting activities such as education and training (E&T) and knowledge management (KM). Cooperative projects and other forms of joint activities carried out in the Working Groups will follow agreed work plans and objectives. Other participants Regulators and Technical Safety Organisations are also invited to join the technology platform as observers by forming for example Mirror group(s) as decided by them. The regulator s interaction with the platform shall not compromise their independence or prejudice their decisions. 7. ACTIVITIES OF THE IMPLEMENTING GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM The technology platform will be active in the following areas to meet its objectives: Pooling of critical European resources and preparing coordination of future projects. It is important to ensure and to foster a sustainable European critical mass of competent human resources that can handle all aspects of geological disposal such as site characterisation, nuclear engineering, repository construction, operation and monitoring, closure, and the overall safety case now and in the future. The pooling of resources can create and support the development and the strengthening of strong centres of competence in Europe. These competence centres can also provide unbiased knowledge concerning the feasibility of geological disposal that decision-makers and citizens may consult. 5 Copyright 2009 by ASME

6 Mobilising public and private funds from the platform members and from other funding sources to finance implementation of the agreed strategic initiatives; Properly developing, managing and transferring knowledge concerning geological disposal; Contributing to the availability and maintenance of critical masses of resources for RD&D of technology as well as networks for knowledge management, education and training; Identifying areas in strategic knowledge or know-how that can be covered by concerted actions; Creating synergies with other European Technology Platforms, international organisations (like OECD/NEA, IAEA), and European initiatives such as the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG). The technology platform is aimed at offering efficient and flexible ways to arrange necessary actions to achieve the objectives in the different RD&D target areas and strategic areas. 8. FORESEEN BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING THE IGD-TP The IGD-TP when successful in meeting its objectives is foreseen to provide European wide benefits as described in the following. Co-operation, focused RD&D with openness about the results, is an important stepping stone for the implementation of deep geological disposal in the countries aiming for implementation of facilities in 2025, as well as for countries that will follow later. Stakeholder confidence in Europe will be enhanced by a demonstration of a viable solution for managing spent fuel, high-level and/or long-lived radioactive wastes. The platform intends to constitute a tool for reducing overlapping work, to produce savings in total costs of research and implementation, and to make better use of existing competence and research infrastructures. Thus participation in the technology platform will support and be of benefit to waste management programmes, independent of the time plans of such programmes. Competence building A wealth of scientific information, technology, knowledge and experience accumulated over the decades of RD&D exists among the committed and potential participants in the platform. The platform's co-operative work is expected to further efficiently competence building and later, to disseminate knowledge. The work on increasing knowledge and overall level of competence will lead to improvements in technology. Communication with all relevant stakeholders concerned with radioactive waste management, and with deep geological disposal in particular, will be vital and will add to increased confidence. The openness and willingness to co-operate and build on previous experience will be essential for coordination of the waste management programmes in different European Member States and for developing a common view and understanding on chosen deep geological disposal systems and/or on their components. Joint work and use of resources The technology platform will support joint work and joint use of experimental facilities; joint use and transfer of results and experience; and the development of robust repository designs through interdisciplinary and focussed research, which is expected to even further enhance the current good understanding of the site properties and features (including geology and groundwater) and the engineered barrier functions, and their interactions. The platform will support further analysis of the evolution of the repository system from pre-construction conditions to the post-closure behaviour tens of thousands years into the future; the reduction of the uncertainties in safety assessments; and it will facilitate the extensive and careful reviews by independent distinguished scientists, scientific bodies, authorities, and regulators about achieved results carried out in the respective waste programmes. All these items are expected to enhance the confidence in the solutions. Joint work on strategies All countries with waste management programmes independent of their timetable for implementation can benefit from research made on strategic issues such as retrievability, reversibility and final closure. Other topics are e.g. monitoring, safeguards, and institutional control after closure. 6 Copyright 2009 by ASME

7 Knowledge transfer The technology platform is foreseen to support the development of strong competence centres, which will facilitate efficient knowledge transfer between countries in an early stage of their waste management programme and those who are entering the licensing stage. A further benefit in creating centres of competence and networks is that Europe can provide expert technology advice to other countries exploring the nuclear option. Opportunities are also likely to evolve for technology providers regarding instruments, equipments, machinery, and manufacturing. 9. THE WAY FORWARD The Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform will be officially launched at a Launch Event that will take place on November 12, 2009 in Brussels under the Swedish Presidency of the European Union. The preliminary work on developing the Strategic Research Agenda is planned to commence prior the Launch Event including the development of the SRA's objectives and the classification basis for prioritizing RD&D topics. The detailed timing of the plan is depending on the financial support to the Secretariat to produce the SRA in 2010 for consultation. The Deployment Plan is aimed to be published in The first Exchange Forum meetings are planned for these two years. Also the Executive Group of the IGD-TP together with the working groups will be established after the Launch Event. 10. CONCLUSIONS AND GETTING INVOLVED The organisations who have produced the Vision Document draft have been working together to identify and to develop research topics of mutual interest since the Net.Excel project. This time, the prerequisites for having the trains on the same track for reaching the same end station collaboratively but at different times are there in the form of the shared vision. This enables both the discussions and compromises needed for taking further steps in the short run, since there is a common goal in sight, where any single organisation reaching the station first assists also the others on their journey to the station. All stakeholders endorsing the vision of IGD-TP are welcome to join the IGD-TP's journey at the Launch Event or later by application. The level of your organisation's commitment and contributions to the IGD-TP will define your role in the different organisational groups of the IGD-TP. The Interim Secretariat is situated at SKB, Stockholm, where Mr. Torsten Eng (torsten.eng@skb.se) can be contacted for more details. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank the members of the committed organisations, the people who assisted the interim drafting team in producing the Vision Document that has provided much of the basis for this paper, and the European Commission officials Simon Webster, Gaetano Di Bartolo, and Gerard Bruno for sharing their advice on the development of a technology platform. REFERENCES [1] OECD/NEA, 2008, "Moving forward with geological disposal of radioactive waste: An NEA RWMC collective statement", NEA/RWM(2008)5/REV2. rev2.pdf [2] European Commission, 2008, "Attitudes towards radioactive waste", Special Eurobarometer 297, June ebs/ebs_297_en.pdf [3] M. Wiborgh, T. Papp, C. Svemar, 2004, "Net.Excel", Final Technical Report, IPR-04-54, Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB. [4] CARD Project, 2008, "A Co-ordination Action on Research, Development and Demonstration Priorities and Strategies for Geological Disposal", Final Report by NDA (A. Hooper), May 2008, (unpublished). [5] European Commission, 2002, "Industrial policy in an enlarged Europe", Communication COM(2002) 714 final. ope.pdf; 7 Copyright 2009 by ASME

8 [6] IGD-TP, 2009, "Implementing Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste Technology Platform. Vision Document", draft for consultation (available at COM(2006) 847 final. 7en01.pdf [7] European Commission, 2007, "Towards a European Strategic Energy Technology Plan", Communication 8 Copyright 2009 by ASME