On behalf of the federal government, the BGE is responsible for the permanent storage of radioactive waste deep underground. Find out more about its structure, organization, tasks and projects here.

Supervisory Board

BGE mission statement

International collaboration

Here you can find all of the BGE’s press releases regarding its projects.

Announcements and press releases

Radioactive waste

Radioactive waste

In Germany, radioactive waste is to be stored in repositories deep below the earth’s surface. These pages set out where radioactive waste arises, as well as what quantities and types exist.

Background information

Current inventory

Product control

Repository search

The selection of a repository site for high-level radioactive waste in Germany is being carried out as a science-based, transparent and learning process. There are three eligible types of host rock.

Representative preliminary safety analyses

Planning-scientific weighing criteria

Sub-areas interim report

Deep underground, the Asse II mine stores 47,000 cubic metres of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. This is not a safe place for the waste to be. It must be retrieved, and the mine must then be decommissioned in accordance with the BGE’s legal mandate. Here, we provide an overview.

Short information

History of the Asse II mine

Radioactive waste in the Asse II mine

Asse II mine info centre and public tours

Main topic: 3D seismic survey

Main topic: Salt water in the Asse mine

At the Konrad mine in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, work is currently underway on building Germany’s first repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste to be licensed under nuclear law.

Short information

History of the Konrad repository

Radioactive waste for the Konrad repository

Licensing of the Konrad repository

Actors and tasks

Info centre and tours

Main topic: Evaluation of the safety requirements for the Konrad repository

Main topic: The Konrad repository – a multigenerational project

The Morsleben repository is the first German repository that is to be decommissioned in accordance with nuclear law and with the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste left in place.

Short information

History of the Morsleben repository

Radioactive waste in the Morsleben repository

Decommissioning of the Morsleben repository

Actors and tasks

Info Morsleben and public tours

Main topic: Stability

Stability at Morsleben – from mine to repository

Prevention of mining hazards in the central part

Operational geomechanical monitoring in Morsleben

The work of the mine surveying team: pits, boundaries and geodata

Unwanted changes: stabilisation measures for decommissioning

The Gorleben mine

The BGE has been mandated to close the Gorleben mine. This page provides information on the Gorleben project.

Eine Person mit Schutzhelm und Bergmannskleidung steht mit Kamera auf der Schulter in einem unterirdischen Hohlraum. Sie ist von hinten zu sehen und filmt zwei in einger Entfernung stehende Bergleute, die ihr mit einer Taschenlampe entgegen leuchten.

Press office

To receive our press releases by email, please send your contact information to presse(at)bge.de. We will also inform you about press conferences and our events.

Monika Hotopp - Spokesperson

Press office
Eschenstraße 55
31224 Peine

E-Mail: monika.hotopp(at)bge.de

Portrait of Monika Hotopp

© Anke Jacob

Sven Petersen - Spokesperson

Press office
Eschenstraße 55
31224 Peine

E-Mail: sven.petersen(at)bge.de

© BGE

Dagmar Dehmer – Manager of Corporate Communication

Berlin Office
Kurfürstendamm 170
10707 Berlin

E-Mail: dagmar.dehmer(at)bge.de

Portrait of Dagmar Dehmer

© Anke Jacob

Press photos

Please feel free to use these photos for your coverage. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need a higher resolution or other imagery.
Granting of usage rights for image and film material (PDF, 179 KB) (PDF, 0,17MB)

Management and BGE headquarters

Portrait photo: A woman with blond chin-length hair, black glasses and a light-colored blazer looks friendly into the camera

Iris Graffunder - Chair of the Managing Board (JPG, 77 KB) (JPG, 0,08MB)

Portrait photo: A woman with brown, tied up hair, dark pearl necklace and black blouse looks friendly into the camera

Marlis Koop - Managing Director and Labour Director (JPG, 126 KB) (JPG, 0,12MB)

Portrait photo: A man with short gray hair, a green shirt and a dark blue jacket smiles at the camera.

Dr. Thomas Lautsch - Technical Managing Director (JPG, 82 KB) (JPG, 0,08MB)

Aerial view of a gray-silver office building. Trees, residential buildings and blue sky can be seen in the background.

Aerial view of the BGE headquarters in Peine, Lower Saxony (JPG, 8,3 MB)

Asse II mine

Machine hall of the Asse II mine, winding tower in the background

Machine hall and winding tower of the Asse II mine (JPG, 1,4 MB)

Miners leave the pit cage of the Asse II mine in the shaft hall

Shaft hall: Miners leave the conveyor cage (JPG, 1,5 MB)

An employee at the Asse II mine uses a fissurometer to check a crack in the mine. The mine workings are heavily stressed by the sustained rock pressure.

Crack monitoring: An employee checks a crack in the mine (JPG, 1,4 MB)

A group of visitors at the main reception point of the Asse II mine at a depth of 658 meters.

Main collection point of the Asse II mine at a depth of 658 meters (JPG, 1 MB)

Historical photos

A wheel loader dumps barrels of radioactive waste.

1975: A wheel loader dumps drums of radioactive waste in a storage chamber at the Asse mine (JPG, 500 KB) (JPG, 0,45MB)

Drum cone of MAW drums in a storage chamber of the Asse II mine

Drums of radioactive waste dumped in the Asse mine for radiation protection reasons (JPG, 150 KB) (JPG, 0,15MB)

VBA container in a storage chamber

1975: A loader drives past containers stacked horizontally in a storage chamber at the Asse mine (JPG, 150 KB) (JPG, 0,14MB)

Drums stacked horizontally in the Asse

Horizontally stacked drums with radioactive waste in a chamber of the Asse II mine (JPG, 610 KB) (JPG, 0,6MB)

Konrad repository

The winding tower of Konrad 1 pit against a blue sky

Assembly work on the winding tower of the Konrad 1 mine (JPG, 310 KB) (JPG, 0,3MB)

Aerial view of the Konrad 1 mine with the listed headframe. Fields stretch out all around.

An aerial view of the Konrad 1 mine in Salzgitter (JPG, 1,4 MB)

The Konrad 2 mine from the air. You can see excavation pits, construction containers and a crane.

Aerial view of the Konrad 2 mine in Salzgitter (JPG, 1,6 MB)

A long underground tunnel with a large pipe running along the ceiling.

Underground: one of the emplacement routes in the Konrad repository (JPG, 1,3 MB)

Large machines are parked in a developed section of the mine. Countless rock bolts protrude from the walls. Two miners in work clothes stand in the foreground.

Working area for the backfill processing at a depth of 850 meters (JPG, 1,4 MB)

Two circular pipes with a diameter of several meters extend underground in the Konrad repository. Two miners in work clothes stand where the tubes cross. They look tiny in the large tunnels. Countless rock bolts protrude from the walls.

Route expansion in the controlled area of the Konrad repository (JPG, 1,4 MB)

Stacked containers with radioactive waste in a hall

Container with radioactive waste in the Lubmin interim storage facility (JPG, 365 KB) (JPG, 0,36MB)

Morsleben repository

The site of the Morsleben repository is set against a blue sky behind a large gate. The white winding tower rises into the air.

Site of the Morsleben repository (JPG, 9,5 MB)

The Morsleben repository photographed from the air. The site, including the white winding tower, is surrounded by green fields and forests under a blue sky.

Aerial view of the Morsleben repository (JPG, 6 MB)

Stored drums with potentially contaminated own waste

Operational waste on the 4th level (JPG, 2 MB)

Large container parts in final storage in Westfeld

Final storage of large container parts (JPG, 1,6 MB)

Black and white photo from 1922 showing several large buildings, the factory chimney and the headframe of Marie shaft.

Historical photo of shaft Marie from 1922 (JPG, 2 MB)

Black and white photo: Three drums are standing on a rail car in front of a shaft.

Historical photo: Drum handling at the Morsleben repository (JPG, 430 KB) (JPG, 0,42MB)

3D graphic representation of the mine workings of the Morsleben repository. The storage areas are highlighted in color.

Graphic: Mine workings with emplacement areas in the Morsleben repository (JPG, 150 KB) (JPG, 0,15MB)

Gorleben mine

The Gorleben mine site photographed from the air. It is surrounded by huge areas of forest.

Aerial view of the Gorleben mine (JPG, 7 MB)

The square salt heap of the Gorleben mine - photographed from the air. The mine's winding tower, to which a road leads, can be seen in the background. Huge areas of forest stretch out all around.

Salt heap of the Gorleben mine (JPG, 7 MB)

The winding tower of the Gorleben mine - photographed from the parking lot in front of it, where a few cars are parked.

Winding tower of the Gorleben mine (JPG, 3,5 MB)

The remains of a white wall can be seen in the foreground. In the background, the winding tower of the Gorleben mine rises up behind trees.

Remains of the wall at the Gorleben mine (JPG, 5,6 MB)

Repository search

Three differently colored pieces of rock lie on a table, slightly reflected in its smooth surface.

Three host rocks: clay, salt and crystalline (JPG, 6 MB)

A gray lump of rock lies on a table, slightly reflected in its smooth surface.

Host rock clay (JPG, 6 MB)

Two differently colored pieces of rock lie on a table, slightly reflected in its smooth surface.

Host rock salt (JPG, 6 MB)

A gray-mottled lump of rock lies on a table, slightly reflected in its smooth surface.

Host rock crystalline (JPG, 6 MB)

Press releases

Foto einer Frau, die vor einem Computerbildschirm sitzt. Der Computerbildschirm zeigt eine Kartenanwendung.

Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung publishes progress of work on repository search

Where does the search for a repository in Germany stand? How is the Federal Company for Final Disposal (BGE) finding the site with the best possible safety for highly radioactive waste?

BGE discusses results of second phase of safety inspection of Konrad repository

Construction of the Konrad repository in Salzgitter has reached the finishing straight. The first low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste is to be emplaced in the repository in the early 2030s.

A brightly illuminated cavity underground: on the left of the picture is a reservoir; it is surrounded by a metal railing. In the background is a miner in white work clothes.

BGE makes application for renovation of Asse main collection point

The amount of salt water collected in the Asse II mine has continued to decrease. The BGE has made an application to the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology to upgrade the main collection point.

The different host rocks for the repository for high-level radioactive waste: claystone, rock salt and crystalline rock

BGE sets temperature limit for waste containers in repository search

The temperature of the containers should not exceed 150°C in rock salt or 100°C in the case of claystone and crystalline rock

Foto von Jan-Niclas Gesenhues

New chairman of BGE Supervisory Board

Dr Jan-Niclas Gesenhues has led the Supervisory Board since March 2024