TUM and BGZ cooperation at Campus Garching
Research on the storage and disposal of radioactive waste
BGZ operates interim facilities in Germany for the storage of nuclear fuels and radioactive waste from the reprocessing of irradiated fuel elements, including the sites at Ahaus and Gorleben, as well as several interim storage facilities at former nuclear power plants.
By the time the current storage licenses expire (between 2034 and 2047), no final repository for irradiated fuel elements and other heat-generating radioactive waste will be available and operational. BGZ therefore published a research program in 2022 to address questions relating to extended interim storage. The federally owned company has also been represented at the campus with its own research group since 2023. BGZ and TUM will now pool their resources, infrastructure, and expertise even more closely in a research cooperation and work on joint research projects.
TUM has decades of expertise in the field of nuclear technology, including operating the FRM II research neutron source at the Garching site. Extensive radiochemical laboratories are also located there, which already hold the required licenses for handling nuclear fuels. In addition, TUM conducts research and teaching on topics such as nuclear and reactor engineering, reactor physics, nuclear chemistry, materials, simulation, and data analysis. The BGZ research group will work together with TUM scientists on various research tasks.
Nuclear safety is the highest priority
TUM's Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, Prof. Gerhard Kramer, said: "The people of Germany rightly place the highest demands on nuclear safety. BGZ's statutory mandate is to meet these requirements. And we at TUM are happy to support them with our scientific expertise and practical experience."
"The research cooperation entitled 'ARGUS' is the logical further development of our research program," said Dr. Maik Stuke, head of BGZ.lab. "We need solid scientific foundations in order to be able to demonstrate the safety of interim storage over the long term. To this end, the cooperation pools BGZ's research, expertise, and experience as an interim storage operator with TUM's research strengths."
The agreement between BGZ and TUM is initially set to run for five years.
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source (FRM II)
- TUM Chair of Nuclear Technology
- TUM Professorship of Applied Nuclear Technologies
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
- Ulrich Meyer
- presse@tum.de
- Teamwebsite
