Europe is taking a major step forward on how to manage one of the most technically demanding and socially significant environmental challenges, the safe and sustainable management of radioactive waste.
The EJP EURAD-2 project (European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management) brings together more than 1100 leading scientists, engineers and policymakers to ensure that the handling and disposal of radioactive materials across the continent is grounded in robust science, technological innovation, and public trust. Managing radioactive waste involves a carefully coordinated series of steps designed to ensure the safety of people and the protection of the environment. It covers everything from the safe conditioning, packaging, and interim storage of waste (“predisposal”) to its final emplacement in deep geological repositories designed to isolate hazardous materials from the biosphere for thousands of years.
EJP EURAD-2 seeks to strengthen Europe’s collective research, technological capacity and knowledge base across all these stages. By coordinating scientific efforts between national programmes, the initiative ensures that discoveries, data, and best practices are shared to accelerate innovation while reducing duplication of effort.
At the policy level, the project plays a vital role in supporting the European Union’s Waste Directive, which mandates that all Member States (MS) develop responsible strategies for managing radioactive waste. Because national programmes vary in scale, maturity, and resources, EJP EURAD-2 functions as a platform for exchange enabling countries to learn from one another and align their approaches to international safety standards.
Scientific and Strategic Goals: the project’s objectives are both scientific and strategic
- Enhancing national RD&D programmes: helping MS design, implement and evaluate effective research, development and demonstration (RD&D) activities in radioactive waste management.
- Consolidating scientific knowledge: advancing understanding of geological disposal systems (including material behaviour, barrier integrity and long-term safety assessment) to support the operation of Europe’s first deep disposal facilities for spent fuel and high-level waste.
- Building on previous achievements: leveraging the progress of earlier initiatives such as EJP EURAD-1 and EURATOM PREDIS, ensuring continuity and cumulative knowledge growth across generations of research.
Beyond its scientific goals, EJP EURAD-2 also addresses the social dimension of radioactive waste management, the need to build and maintain public confidence through transparency, knowledge sharing and consistent communication. By linking science, technology and policy, EJP EURAD-2 embodies a new model of cooperation, one that not only advances the state of the art in waste management but also ensures that decisions are informed, responsible and trusted. Through this shared commitment, Europe is laying the groundwork for a safe, sustainable and scientifically sound future in the stewardship of radioactive materials.
The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) participates in three work packages within the EURAD-2 Joint Programme, contributing both as a work package leader and as a work package (WP) partner. These WPs address key challenges in future-oriented radioactive waste management, innovation in characterization techniques and digital transformation of facility operations. All deliverables and milestones planned for the reporting period were successfully achieved, in line with the established work plan.
WP# Waste Management for SMRs and Future Fuels (FORSAFF)
Objective: To develop a comprehensive understanding and provide recommendations for the deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced nuclear fuel cycles in relation to radioactive waste management.
WP#: Innovative Characterisation Techniques for Large Volumes (ICARUS)
Objective: To further develop, optimize, and harmonize innovative techniques for characterizing the radiological, physical, and chemical properties of low-level (LLW) and intermediate-level (ILW) mixed waste. The goal is to enhance the reliability and safety of radioactive waste characterization processes, an essential step for the safe implementation of national and European waste management programmes.
WP#: Next Generation Digital Twins to Support Optimisation, Construction and Operation of Surface and Subsurface Radioactive Waste Management Facilities (DITOCO2030) (WP leadership)
Objective: To define the roadmap for closing the current research and development gap between fragmented digital twin (DT) applications across individual disciplines, common data environments and decision-support platforms. This work aims to improve understanding of both the opportunities and limitations of digital twin technologies in supporting the entire life cycle of radioactive waste management, - from design and construction to long-term operation and monitoring.
By step-change EURAD-2 means a new era via a more effective and efficient public research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in Europe, and a deepening of research cooperation between MS having different radioactive waste inventories, and with programs at various stages of development.
The scope of EURAD-2 builds upon the achievements of EJP EURAD-1 and EURATOM PREDIS. At a strategic level it is structured by the EURAD-1 Roadmap, while the prioritized scope refers to the updated Strategic Research Agenda (SRA)6. EURAD-2 continues to collaboratively develop, maintain and consolidate at the European level the scientific and technical basis of RWM, including disposal.
The scope of EURAD-2 includes scientific and technical activities on all steps (from “cradle to grave”) of RWM:
- Radioactive waste inventory including steps to minimize final radioactive waste to be managed;
- Radioactive waste characterization & processing (including pre-treatment, treatment and conditioning);
- Interim storage of radioactive waste; and
- Disposal solutions – with the main focus on geological disposal of spent fuel, high-level waste (HLW) and long-lived intermediate level waste (ILW).
Specific RD&D required for near-surface or surface disposal and low-level waste (LLW), will be addressed.Nuclear facility dismantling and decommissioning activities are however excluded, although interfaces, and particularly aspects that impacts final disposal could be considered.
The project aims to connect with the wider European Community through, e.g., SNETP, NEA, DigiDECOM community, IGDTP, IAEA, ENSREG, ERDO Association, and will encourage interaction between different national programmes.
