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Decommissioning of nuclear facilities

The decommissioning of a nuclear installation, such as a power plant or research reactor, is the final step in its lifecycle.

Nuclear decommissioning is the process to remove regulatory controls from a nuclear installation at the end of its active life. It aims at ensuring the long-term protection of the public and the environment. It involves all activities from the final shutdown of the facility and the removal of all nuclear material, to the dismantling and demolition of physical structures and the environmental restoration of the site. The whole process is complex and in past cases has typically taken 20 to 30 years to complete.

Nuclear decommissioning in the EU

EU countries have the ultimate responsibility for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations, including decommissioning operations, as outlined in the Euratom directives on nuclear safety and on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The directives mandate the highest safety standards for the operation of nuclear installations and for the management of the spent fuel and the radioactive waste they generate.

Many nuclear installations in the EU are being decommissioned and it is an economic opportunity for the EU’s industry. According to a study published in 2019, the decommissioning of nuclear power plants until 2045 would be worth around €60 billion.

Financial support

First-generation Soviet-designed nuclear reactors have been considered already for a long time not as safe as the existing nuclear reactors in the EU. This idea became more tangible following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. At the time of their accession to the EU, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania agreed to shut down their first generation Soviet-designed power plants.

In line with their accession agreements, the EU provides financial support for the decommissioning of the concerned reactors through the Nuclear Decommissioning Assistance Programme (NDAP).

In Bulgaria, the programme covers the decommissioning of 4 reactors (Units 1-4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant). These were first generation VVER reactors (a reactor type similar to the PWR power reactors that are common in Western Europe) that were put in operation between 1974 and 1982. At the beginning of 2025, the fissile material was completely removed from the 4 reactors and the dismantling of the primary circuits was well-advanced. Preparations were made for cutting the steam generators and the other big components of the primary circuit, including the reactor pressure vessels and the reactor internals.

In Slovakia, it covers both units of the Bohunice V1 Nuclear Power Plant, consisting of the same VVER reactors as in Kozloduy. At the beginning of 2025, both reactors had been completely removed and fragmented, the radioactive parts had been conditioned as radioactive waste and disposed of, while the non-radioactive parts had been cleared from further regulatory control. Removal of few remaining systems (essentially ventilation and few waste tanks) were ongoing and preparations were made for removal of the remaining buildings.

In Lithuania, it consists of the 2 RBMK reactors (the same reactor type as the Chernobyl 4 reactor that exploded in 1986) of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. By the beginning of 2025, the nuclear fuel had been removed from both reactors and the dismantling of the primary circuits had started. This decommissioning of these reactors is the first decommissioning project of RBMK reactors in the world. The decommissioning of this type of reactors poses very specific problems for which the optimal solution still needs to be developed. The safe dismantling of the graphite reactor core and the subsequent treatment of the radioactive graphite is one of the mean issues that needs to be solved. A detailed reflection and study of possible solutions was launched in 2024.

Until 2013, the EU also co-financed projects to mitigate the consequences of shutting down the reactors, for example by replacing lost electricity generation capacity. From 2014 onwards, financing concentrated on the safety challenges of the decommissioning. From 2021 onwards, the focus in the 3 programmes has been the physical dismantling of the installations.

The EU supports the decommissioning programmes for 2021-2027, in line with the Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/100 and the Council Regulation (EU) 2021/101. These rules include a new explicit objective for the programmes to disseminate knowledge on decommissioning to all EU countries, led by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The Commission has tabled a proposal for a Council Regulation to co-finance the decommissioning of the reactors at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in the period 2028-2034.

Reporting 

The progress of the Nuclear Decommissioning Assistance Programme is periodically reported on. The most recent report was published in April 2024. Key Performance Indicators are also published on the Programme Performance Statements webpages.

Implementation 

The Commission manages the programmes by entrusting the implementation tasks to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania, to the Central Project Management Agency in Lithuania, and to the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency in Slovakia.

Group of experts

The Commission set up the Nuclear Backend Financial Aspects expert group (NuBaFA) in April 2021 (Decision C/2021/2109) to help analyse financial aspects of nuclear decommissioning, spent fuel and radioactive waste management, such as cost estimations, financing mechanisms, securing of required funds and their management.

NuBaFA took over from the former Decommissioning Funding Group (DFG), which was introduced by Commission Recommendation 2006/851/Euratom. NuBaFA is composed of representatives appointed by EU countries, with a high level of expertise in the financial aspects of nuclear decommissioning and spent fuel and radioactive waste management.

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