Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE)

About BGE

The Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE) is a state-owned federal company based in Peine (Lower Saxony) and is responsible for the disposal of radioactive waste in Germany. Its tasks include the cross-site search for a repository for highly radioactive waste with the best possible safety for one million years, the operation of the Konrad repository in Salzgitter and the Morsleben repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, as well as the retrieval of stored waste and the decommissioning of the Asse II shaft facility. Additionally, it handles the decommissioning of the Gorleben shaft construction. BGE conducts geological and geotechnical investigations, including 3D seismic surveys and representative preliminary safety assessments, operates information centers at project sites, and involves the public in the procedures. The company is registered in the Commercial Register of AG Hildesheim (HRB 204918) and works internationally, among other things, in the EDRAM cooperation.

Site

Peine

Processes

Site search for a repository for highly radioactive waste, Operation of Konrad Repository (low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste), Operation of Morsleben Repository, Retrieval of radioactive waste and decommissioning of Asse II shaft facility, Decommissioning of Gorleben Shaft, Public participation and information centers, Research and development (e.g., representative preliminary safety assessments, 3D seismic surveys)

Industries

Radioactive Waste Disposal, Mining/Geotechnics, Nuclear Waste Management

1. 01

   Site search and geological investigation

2. 02

   Permitting procedures

3. 03

   Conversion and operation of disposal facilities

4. 04

   Storage or retrieval of radioactive waste

5. 05

   Decommissioning and closure of shaft facilities

6. 06

   Public participation and site monitoring

Sites

Inside the production

History

1. 1898

   Start of potash and rock salt mining in the Marie (Beendorf) and Bartensleben (Morsleben) mines

2. 1900

   Construction of facilities on the Asse uplands and start of potash/rock salt extraction in Marie/Bartensleben (from 1898) or Asse (from 1909)

3. 1909

   Start of potash salt mining in the northern slope of the Asse II shaft facility (until 1925)

4. 1916

   Start of rock salt mining in the Asse II shaft facility (until 1964)

5. 1933

   Discovery of the ore deposit of the Konrad mine at a depth below 800 meters during the search for oil

6. 1960

   Konrad Shaft 1 reaches its final depth of 1,232 meters after about two and a half years of construction; start of construction of Konrad Shaft 2

7. 1964

   End of salt mining in the Asse II shaft facility; start of ore extraction in the Konrad mine

8. 1965

   The Federal Government buys the Asse II shaft facility; start of disposal research

9. 1967

   Start of storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste in Asse II (until 1978, around 47,000 m³)

10. 1971

    Morsleben repository (Bartensleben Shaft) becomes the central DDR repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste

11. 1976

    End of ore extraction in Konrad; beginning of suitability investigation as a repository site

12. 1981

    Approval for limited permanent operation of the Morsleben repository

13. 1982

    Start of the approval procedure for the Konrad repository by the Federal Physical-Technical Institute

14. 1986

    Approval for unrestricted permanent operation of the Morsleben repository

15. 1994

    Continuation of storage in the Morsleben repository after reunification (until 1998)

16. 2007

    Completion of the approval procedure for the Konrad repository; start of conversion to repository (capacity up to 303,000 m³)

17. 2009

    The Asse II shaft facility is placed under atomic law

18. 2013

    Legal mandate for the retrieval of stored radioactive waste from Asse II

19. 2025

    Jürgen Korth becomes Technical Managing Director on July 1st; restart of the Gorleben shaft construction