Energy · Nuclear wasteOnkalo repository licence granted, but spent-fuel disposal still awaits safety checksAired October 24, 2026 at 11:56 AM UTCWritten October 24, 2026 at 12:05 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07Finland is preparing to bury spent nuclear fuel 420 meters underground.0:12Poziva says the government has granted ONCALO an operating license.0:15The project would create the world's first permanent underground disposal route for0:19spent fuel from commercial reactors.0:21When can Finland turn that permission into permanent disposal?0:24ONCALO is at Olkiluoto in Urajoki, western Finland.0:29Its disposal program serves fuel from the Olkiluoto and Lovisa nuclear power plants.0:34Those plants belong to TVO and Fordom, the companies that own Poziva.0:39The program is intended to serve Finland's five reactors.0:42Its practical purpose is to give their spent fuel a permanent destination.0:46Other countries already have disposal facilities for low and intermediate level0:50radioactive waste.0:51ONCOLO's first of its kind role concerns spent fuel from commercial nuclear power0:55plants.0:56The government granted the license on october twenty second, Poziva says.0:59Before disposal begins, the company must complete commissioning tests and1:03inspections.1:03Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, known as ASTUCE, must verify and1:08approve that work.1:09Commissioning means checking that the facility and its organization can carry out1:12their jobs together.1:13Poziva has already tested equipment and procedures using dummy fuel.1:17That work prepares the route for spent fuel with regulatory acceptance still ahead.1:21Poziva, led by Chief Executive Ilka Poikolainen, links an above-ground encapsulation1:26plant with an underground disposal facility.1:29A canister hoist shaft is designed to take disposal canisters down to the repository1:33level, documented at 420 meters.1:36That depth describes the planned destination of the canisters.1:40ONKLO began as an underground research facility, where investigators studied whether1:44Okiluoto's bedrock was suitable for final disposal.1:47The investigation, construction, and testing have built toward the same goal:1:51placing spent fuel underground permanently.1:53Oncolo's stated design capacity is 6,500 tons of uranium.1:58That measures the uranium associated with the fuel.2:01The canisters and other packaging add mass of their own.2:04The figure describes the facility's design capacity.2:07Poziva's preparations stretch back well over a decade.2:10The company applied for a construction license on December 31, 2012.2:15By January 2018, Finland was the only country that had begun building a repository2:19for final disposal of its spent nuclear fuel.2:22Poziva submitted its operating license application on December 30th, 2021, while2:27construction was still underway.2:28That began the request for operating permission.2:31The government grant announced this October came almost five years later.2:34Underground ventilation and piping reached the readiness needed for a trial run,2:38Poziva announced on May 3, 2024.2:41The systems had been completed and commissioned far enough to support that test2:45phase.2:46The trial would then bring equipment and people together.2:48Test operation began on August 30, 2024, using non-radioactive dummy fuel2:54elements.2:55The integrated trial tested how equipment, systems, and processes work together2:59alongside the organization and personnel expected to run them.3:02A December 16th update confirmed that the trial had begun at the end of August and3:06used no spent nuclear fuel.3:08Further approvals followed.3:09On November 25th, 2025, POZIVA announced Stook's approval of a construction plan for3:14an extruded copper tube used in the disposal canister's copper shell.3:18The copper approval covered that component's construction plan.3:21Stuck's safety assessment was published on August 4th, 2026, moving the operating3:26license into government preparation.3:28October's grant advanced the project again while leaving commissioning approval as3:32the next gate.3:33The site's estimated cost is $1.16 billion.3:36A separate construction estimate puts the building costs at about 1 billion euros.3:41Both figures concern Oncalo and they shouldn't be added together.3:44The broader financial commitment continues through operation and eventual closure.3:48A disposal facility's lifetime costs can cover underground characterization,3:53investment above and below ground, and operations.3:56They can also include decommissioning the encapsulation plant and closing the4:00repository.4:01Those obligations extend beyond the work of building it.4:04POZIVA still has to finish commissioning tests and inspections, and Stuck must4:08accept that work before permanent disposal begins.4:11Nobody has set an opening date.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗