COUNTRY PAVILLIONS | WNE2025 Germany: Fusion and a nuclear future
Since phasing out the last of its reactors in 2023, Germany’s fission focus has been on decommissioning and disposal, but the country is still pursuing the power of fusion
In April 2023, Germany permanently shut down its last three commercial nuclear power reactors: Isar 2 operated by E.ON, Neckarwestheim 2 operated by EnBW, and Emsland operated by RWE. These units had a combined net electrical capacity of over 4 GWe and contributed approximately 6% to national electricity generation prior to their closure. This marked the culmination of the country’s nuclear phase- out policy (Atomausstieg), which was initiated in 2011 following the Fukushima Daiichi accident. At the time of the
Fukushima event, Germany operated 17 commercial nuclear reactors but in 2011, eight reactors were permanently shut down, including Phillipsburg 1, Neckarwestheim 1, Isar 1, Unterweser, Biblis A and B, Brunsbüttel, and Krümmel. The remaining nine units were progressively decommissioned over subsequent years, with the final three receiving limited operational extensions due to the European energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and associated reductions in Russian natural gas supply. Despite the resulting increase in coal-fired generation, the nuclear phase- out proceeded as planned. The decision to eliminate nuclear power remains contentious,
particularly in the context of climate change and energy security. Nonetheless, Germany’s nuclear sector has shifted its focus to decommissioning and long-term waste management. For example, the 70-tonne reactor pressure vessel lid of the
771 MWe Brunsbüttel plant in Schleswig-Holstein was segmented and packaged earlier this year, ready to melted down and recycled. Brunsbüttel was among the eight oldest German reactors and was one of those taken out of service in March 2011. The last fuel element was removed in June 2017. The federally-owned Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) is responsible for radioactive waste disposal and decommissioning activities. It oversees the existing facilities at the Asse II salt mine near Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony, and the Konrad and Morsleben repositories, as well as decommissioning efforts at the former Gorleben exploratory mine. In August, BGE said it has made a lot of progress in preparing
for the retrieval of radioactive waste from the Asse II mine, which holds some 126,000 barrels of low- and intermediate-
Above: The two unit Biblis nuclear plant is being decommissioned but may see a nuclear future as home to a fusion power plant. Source: RWE
level radioactive waste. An exploratory drilling to a depth of 750 metres provided information for the first time about the condition of the stored barrels in Storage Chamber 12, BGE said. According to current plans, retrieval of the waste in Asse II is scheduled to begin in 2033. BGE is also currently conducting site selection for a deep
geological repository for high-level radioactive waste, a process expected to continue through the 2030s. In March, BGE proposed that the site selection process, which is currently in the first of three phases, should be accelerated. BGE has now suggested merging Phases II and III of the process in which phased exploration will gradually identify a maximum of three optimal sites, which will then be compared with each other. BGE intends to propose 5-10 sites for surface exploration and investigation by the end of 2027. In addition, in early 2025, BGE also reported significant progress on the construction of the Konrad repository, which is designated for the disposal of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. While Germany has rejected fission as an energy source it is nonetheless investigating the potential of fusion. Earlier this year a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed to establish a laser-based nuclear fusion demonstration power plant at the Biblis site in the state of Hesse. The MOU commits to pursuing commercial fusion energy in Hesse by 2035. In March 2024, a new funding programme for nuclear fusion research was also announced by Germany’s Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger aimed at paving the way for the first fusion power plant to be constructed in Germany by 2040.
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