IAEA URF Network Meeting on the Next Generation of Underground Research Laboratories
Participants of the IAEA URF Network Technical Meeting, Prague, 31 May to 4 June 2026
Dr. Andree Lommerzheim präsentiert die Key Experiments in Salzgesteinen beim IAEA-URF-Network-Fachtreffen in Prag.
The IAEA URF Network held its Technical Meeting on Planning the Next Generation of Underground Research Laboratories to Support Geological Disposal Programmes for High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel in Prague from 31 May to 4 June 2026. BGE TECHNOLOGY GmbH (BGE TEC) was represented by Dr. Andree Lommerzheim, who is a member of the Core Group.
Participants reported on the current status of work at underground research laboratories in the Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan, China, Sweden, and Belgium. In more advanced programmes, such as those in Sweden, France, and Switzerland, research programmes are being adapted to the new requirements for constructing deep geological repositories; in many cases these are technical questions. Newer underground research laboratories, for example in South Korea, Japan, and Belgium, focus on the characterisation of additional host rock types and repository components. The waste management programmes in Spain, Argentina, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada address site selection and, through participation in international generic underground research laboratories, the development and extension of host-rock-specific expertise.
Ahead of the meeting, a draft report had been distributed to the members of the URF Network for comment. At the meeting, Dr. Lommerzheim presented a summary of the key experiments in evaporite (salt) formations. Further presentations explained the fundamentals of the report and described key experiments in clay and crystalline host rocks. The comments received on the draft report were then presented and discussed.
A Core Group Meeting for a further URF Network project, "A Guide on Research and Development Support for Geological Disposal Facilities", also took place in Prague. This project documents international experience in adapting research programmes to the respective status of repository projects. BGE TEC supports the project together with the German Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) and contributes the experience of both organisations.