Die im Programm NUSAFE kooperierenden HGF-Zenren FZJ, HZDR und KIT realisieren The HGF centers FZJ, HZDR, and KIT are implementing the decentralized laboratory infrastructure “HOVER” (Helmholtz Research and Technology Platform for the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities and for the Management of Radioactive Waste) at their three locations to expand the scientific foundation for necessary technological developments in the context of Germany’s phase-out of nuclear energy.

To this end, HOVER offers unique large-scale facilities for the development and demonstration of innovative decommissioning technologies. Equally important is the provision of radiochemical laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art instruments for the analysis of radionuclides, including α-emitting actinides and nuclear waste forms. It is essential to understand in detail the processes that determine the behavior of the waste forms and the radionuclides they contain in current interim storage facilities and a future deep geological repository over the relevant time periods. Corresponding laboratory infrastructures are now only available in Germany at the three Helmholtz Centers mentioned above. Thus, these centers bear a special responsibility for research related to a key aspect of the successful implementation of Germany’s “energy transition”: the safe decommissioning of decommissioned nuclear facilities and the long-term disposal of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear energy use. This encompasses the entire process chain, from the decommissioning of the facilities to the safe disposal of nuclear waste.