Following the German Federal Government’s decision to phase out nuclear energy, the question of the safe disposal of both accumulated radioactive waste and future waste generated until the final phase out is complete has become increasingly pressing. Public heated debate concerning various nuclear waste disposal options, some of which are highly controversial, include direct deep geological disposal with and without waste retrievability, long-term interim storage, as well as new conditioning and treatment concepts such as partitioning and transmutation. Scientific research to help guide the decision-making process is essential, as this is the only guarantee for reliable data and models required for any sound, scientifically-based safety case.
In Germany responsibility for safe nuclear waste disposal is a federal matter. The research and development activities at the KIT Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal (KIT-INE) are an integral component of national provident research and encompass the following areas:
The R&D activities are integrated into the fields Nuclear Energy and Safety within the KIT Centre Energy.
