Reactor of the future destroys nuclear waste – KTH to head major EU project to cut storage times dramatically

A power plant that generates energy from used nuclear waste and destroys it as well. Could this become a reality? A three-year research project involving 23 European partners coordinated by KTH is being launched to investigate the matter.

In the last few years great strides have been taken in research into so-called transmutation (see footnote) of nuclear waste. Therefore, the EU is now committing €4 million in Project Red Impact. The objective of the project is to present several alternatives for neutralizing Europe’s nuclear waste. The environmental, economic, and social consequences of the respective alternatives will be studied. Great attention will also be paid to analyzing how waste management is affected by the transmutation process.

Red Impact will be coordinated by the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH). Another Swedish participant is the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company. Major sections of the nuclear power industry and a long line of research institutions from other European countries are also represented. Several of the parties will meet at Oskarshamn in Sweden on Thursday.

“Red Impact will hopefully be the kick-off for the important task of neutralizing nuclear waste,” says Waclaw Cudowski, coordinator for the project.