Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung

Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, commonly abbreviated BGE, is a German federally owned company responsible for the technical implementation of radioactive-waste disposal and repository development. It is organized under private law as a GmbH, or limited-liability company, but its sole shareholder is the Federal Republic of Germany. The company is headquartered in Peine in Lower Saxony and also maintains offices associated with its work in Berlin and Gorleben. BGE's central responsibility is the long-term management of radioactive waste in Germany. Its most prominent task is the search for a suitable site for a repository for high-level radioactive waste. The site-selection process is intended to identify a location offering the highest possible level of safety over a period extending to one million years. This work involves scientific investigation, the assessment of geological regions, documentation of evidence, and public communication. It is conducted under the German Site Selection Act and the relevant provisions of the Atomic Energy Act. In addition to the national site search, BGE operates or manages several existing and planned repository facilities. These include the Konrad repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, the Morsleben repository, and the Asse II and Gorleben mines. The facilities differ substantially in their histories, technical conditions, regulatory situations, and intended roles. BGE's remit therefore combines repository construction, operation, monitoring, decommissioning-related work, mine management, and the preparation of information for public and institutional scrutiny. The company was created in July 2016 as part of a reorganization of Germany's administrative and operational structure for radioactive-waste disposal. Its operational structure was consolidated on 20 December 2017, when Asse-GmbH, the Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern für Abfallstoffe, and relevant parts of the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz were merged into BGE. BGE began operating the Asse II mine, the Konrad mine, and the Morsleben repository in April 2017, during the transition to the new institutional arrangement. BGE does not function as a conventional consumer-facing brand. Its identity is primarily institutional and public-service oriented. The company's work is shaped by statutory duties, technical standards, regulatory oversight, and the need to establish confidence in a politically sensitive area. Federal supervision is exercised by the Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung, an independent federal agency operating within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. BGE's supervisory-board members were appointed in July 2017. A major public milestone came in September 2020, when BGE published an interim report on sub-areas. The report presented an intermediate stage of scientific analysis in the search for a potential repository site for high-level radioactive waste. BGE has also used its Einblicke magazine and related public-information activities to explain the site search and its work at Asse, Konrad, Morsleben, and Gorleben. The company remains active as Germany's designated operator and implementing organization for these repository responsibilities.

Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH was established within a major reform of Germany's institutional arrangements for radioactive-waste disposal. Before its creation, responsibilities were distributed among government agencies and specialized organizations involved in repository construction, operation, and the management of particular facilities. A 2016 law reorganized this structure and provided for a federally owned private-law company to carry out the Federal Government's operational responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act and the Repository Site Selection Act. The company was founded in July 2016. Although its legal form is that of a GmbH, its ownership is entirely public: the Federal Republic of Germany is the sole shareholder. This structure separates BGE's operating role from regulatory supervision. BGE implements repository-related tasks, while the Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung carries out federal supervisory responsibilities as an independent authority within the environmental ministry's portfolio. During the transition to the new structure, BGE assumed responsibility for several important facilities. From April 2017, it operated the Asse II mine, the Konrad mine, and the Morsleben repository. The transition was further consolidated on 20 December 2017, when Asse-GmbH, the Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern für Abfallstoffe, and relevant parts of the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz were merged into BGE. The resulting organization brought together expertise and operational duties connected with existing repositories, mines, and future repository planning. BGE's responsibilities cover both existing facilities and the search for a future repository for high-level radioactive waste. The site-selection task is one of Germany's longest-term infrastructure and environmental responsibilities. It requires the comparison of geological areas and the preparation of evidence intended to identify the location offering the best possible safety over a period of one million years. The work is conducted within statutory procedures rather than through ordinary commercial competition. It also requires continuing engagement with public institutions and affected regions because the repository decision has significant environmental, political, and social consequences. The company's portfolio includes the Konrad repository, intended for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, the Morsleben repository, the Asse II mine, and activities associated with Gorleben. These sites do not represent a single standardized product. Each has its own geological, technical, historical, and regulatory context, so BGE's work includes operation, construction-related activity, investigation, monitoring, documentation, and other project-specific duties. In September 2020, BGE published an interim report on sub-areas as part of the high-level-waste repository site search. The publication reported an intermediate stage of scientific investigation and helped communicate the range of areas requiring further consideration. BGE subsequently used its Einblicke magazine and other public communications to explain the site-selection process and its projects at Asse, Konrad, Morsleben, and Gorleben. The company remains Germany's federally owned implementing organization for radioactive-waste repository management and the national search for a high-level-waste repository site.

1. 2021Sub-areas work is explained through public information

   BGE's Einblicke magazine provides public-facing information about the sub-areas investigation and the company's wider repository projects.

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2. 2020Interim report on repository sub-areas is published

   BGE publishes an interim report describing the status of scientific investigations into sub-areas that may be relevant to the search for a high-level radioactive-waste repository.

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3. 2017BGE begins operating major repository facilities

   From April 2017, BGE becomes operator of the Asse II mine, the Konrad mine, and the Morsleben radioactive-waste repository.

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4. 2017Institutional merger is completed

   On 20 December 2017, Asse-GmbH, the Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern für Abfallstoffe, and relevant parts of the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz are merged into BGE.

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5. 2017Supervisory board members are appointed

   Members of BGE's supervisory board are appointed in July 2017 as the new organizational framework is implemented.

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6. 2016BGE is established

   Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung is established in July 2016 as part of Germany's reorganization of responsibilities for radioactive-waste disposal. It is constituted as a GmbH with the Federal Republic of Germany as sole shareholder.

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A federally owned, technically oriented public-service company responsible for implementing Germany's radioactive-waste repository policy, operating designated repository facilities, and conducting the long-term search for a safe repository site.

• High-level radioactive-waste repository site searchSite selection and geological research2016

  BGE conducts the scientific and procedural work required to identify a repository location for high-level radioactive waste. The objective is the best possible long-term safety, assessed over a period of one million years. The work includes the evaluation of geological sub-areas, preparation of technical evidence, and communication of interim findings within the statutory site-selection process.

• Konrad repositoryRadioactive-waste repository2017

  The Konrad mine is one of the major facilities within BGE's operating portfolio. BGE is responsible for the repository's operational and project-related duties as part of Germany's system for managing radioactive waste. Its role forms part of the company's wider responsibility for the construction, operation, and long-term management of repositories.

• Morsleben repositoryRadioactive-waste repository2017

  Morsleben is a radioactive-waste repository operated by BGE. The facility is managed within the company's federally assigned repository portfolio and is subject to the technical, operational, and regulatory requirements applicable to radioactive-waste disposal in Germany.

• Asse II mineRepository mine and remediation-related project2017

  The Asse II mine is one of the facilities transferred to BGE's operational responsibility. BGE manages the mine within its radioactive-waste disposal remit, alongside its duties for other repositories and its national site-selection work.

• Gorleben project and mine activitiesRepository investigation and site-related activity

  Gorleben is included among the locations covered by BGE's information and repository-related activities. BGE maintains an office there and addresses the site's place within the broader German radioactive-waste disposal program.

• 2020Publication of the interim sub-areas reportStrategy

  The statutory search for a high-level radioactive-waste repository required an interim presentation of the scientific investigation into potentially suitable geological areas.

  What changed. BGE published an interim report on sub-areas in September 2020, presenting the status of the investigation and the areas requiring further consideration.

  Aftermath. The report became a key public reference point in the continuing German repository site-selection process.

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• 2017Merger of predecessor organizations into BGEM&A

  The new company required the integration of existing organizations and government functions related to repository construction, operation, and the Asse II mine.

  What changed. Asse-GmbH, the Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern für Abfallstoffe, and relevant parts of the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz were merged into BGE on 20 December 2017.

  Aftermath. BGE became the central federally owned operating organization for the relevant repository and mine responsibilities.

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• 2016Creation of a federally owned repository operatorStrategy

  Germany reorganized the institutional framework for radioactive-waste disposal and provided for a private-law company wholly owned by the Federal Government.

  What changed. BGE was established to perform the Federal Government's operational responsibilities for repository construction, operation, and the search for a suitable high-level-waste repository site.

  Aftermath. The new structure consolidated operational responsibilities while leaving federal regulatory supervision with the Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung.

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• 2021BGE expands public information on repository work through Einblicke

  BGE's Einblicke publication provided public information about the repository site search and the Asse, Konrad, Morsleben, and Gorleben projects, including communication of the sub-areas investigation to a broader audience.

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• 2020BGE publishes interim report on potential repository sub-areas

  BGE released an interim report presenting the status of scientific investigations into sub-areas that could potentially be considered in Germany's search for a repository for high-level radioactive waste.

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1. Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung