Plans for Denmark to establish a final repository for its nuclear waste moved forward on October 2, when state-owned entity Danish Decommissioning announced that it had submitted a proposal for such a facility to the Danish Agency for Civil Security.

The proposal marks a continuation of efforts that began in 2018 with the Danish Parliament's passage of Proposal B 90. That legislation called for geological assessments of sites in Denmark to a depth of 500 meters, the goal being to support construction of a deep geological repository that would be operational by 2073.

Danish Decommissioning has noted that its proposal is intended as a framework to build on; it does not contain such information as potential sites for a permanent repository or the type of deep geological disposal to be used. However, the framework, which Nuclear News accessed with the aid of translation software, does state that because Proposal B 90 requires any final repository to accept different types of nuclear waste, Danish Decommissioning is considering several types of repository structures, including some identified in a 2017 preliminary assessment mentioned by B 90.

Danish Decommissioning proposes beginning preparatory work, such as core staff hiring, in 2027 and starting construction in 2031.

Denmark's nuclear history: Denmark currently produces no nuclear power due to a ban that its parliament enacted in 1985, but the country started exploring new nuclear construction in 2025. Its nuclear waste stems from medical, industrial, and research applications as well as from the decommissioning of the country's legacy nuclear facility, the Risø Nuclear Station.

Established by the Danish Atomic Energy Commission in 1956 and inaugurated in 1958, Risø was conceived as a facility where research into peaceful applications of nuclear energy could be conducted. The facility continued operating under Denmark's Ministry of Trade after the Danish Atomic Energy Commission dissolved in 1975; following Denmark's 1985 decision not to pursue nuclear power generation, its name was changed to the Risø Research Center in 1986.

The Risø facility comprises three reactors, a hot cell facility, a waste treatment plant, and a fuel fabrication plant. Decommissioning work began with the partial disassembly of the hot cell facility in the early 1990s. After Danish Decommissioning was founded, it assumed responsibility of the project in 2003.

Today, in addition to seeking a long-term storage solution for Denmark's nuclear waste, Danish Decommissioning continues to dismantle buildings on the Risø site. The firm also is responsible for interim storage of the nuclear waste that has resulted from Risø's decommissioning as well as from the use of radioisotopes in such cases as medical procedures.

To expand its interim storage capabilities, Danish Decommissioning is pursuing a flood-resistant storage facility at Risø. The New Upgraded Storage Facilities, or NOL, were included as a priority in Proposal B 90. Danish Decommissioning stated in its 2026 performance plan (accessed via translation software) that it intends to apply for a building permit this year.

Other nations' repository goals: Denmark is just one country that has been exploring construction of a deep geological repository:

• Finland: The Onkalo repository received a positive safety evaluation from Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in August. Posiva, the company overseeing the project, began drilling the first boreholes for waste disposal shortly after. The company plans to transition to an operational phase throughout 2027.
• France: Andra, a French national company, submitted a license application in January 2023 to begin construction of its Cigéo deep repository. The license application led to a public inquiry on the project that was held from May 18 to July 16, 2026. On September 14, Andra reported that the commission overseeing the inquiry had issued a favorable report on the license application.
• Sweden: In January 2025, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) began construction of its deep geological repository near the Forsmark nuclear power plant. The firm expects that the site will be capable of storing waste starting in the 2030s.
• Switzerland: The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) submitted a license application for the construction of its Terradura deep geological repository in November 2024. The facility would store low-level, intermediate, and high-level nuclear waste; Nagra expects Switzerland to issue a decision on the application sometime around 2031.
• Canada: In January 2026, Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization announced that it had submitted a project proposal to the nation's government for a repository to be built to a depth of 500 to 800 meters at a site in northwestern Ontario. In September, the Canadian government stated that the project could be designated a project of national interest. If approved, the designation would facilitate streamlined approval of processes related to the repository's development.

Additionally, in the United States, Tennessee and Utah have expressed a willingness to explore new deep geological repositories as part of the Department of Energy's Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses initiative, though no decisions on the states' proposals have been made at the time of this writing.