The Finnish Government has granted Posiva Oy a licence to operate an encapsulation plant and final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel at Olkiluoto in Eurajoki, western Finland. The licence runs until the end of 2070. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment said it is the first operating licence issued anywhere in the world for a final disposal facility of this kind.
The licence allows Posiva to encapsulate and permanently dispose of spent fuel from the Olkiluoto and Loviisa nuclear power plants, up to a maximum of 6,500 tonnes of uranium. That corresponds to roughly 3,300 disposal canisters. Once operations are fully established, the plan is to dispose of no more than 60 canisters a year, with disposal expected to continue into the 2120s before the repository is backfilled and closed. After closure, responsibility for the fuel passes to the Finnish State. Posiva is owned by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Fortum, which are responsible for ensuring sufficient financial resources for the operations.
The facility consists of an above-ground encapsulation plant and the Onkalo repository, built at a depth of more than 400 metres. The Government acted on a favourable statement from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) dated 4 August 2026, which found that the facility meets the safety requirements of the Nuclear Energy Act and Decree. The licence also covers limited volumes of low- and intermediate-level waste, capped at 3,000 cubic metres in total, of which no more than 1,500 cubic metres may be disposed of.
The licence does not yet allow operations to start. STUK must first carry out an inspection under section 20 of the Nuclear Energy Act to confirm that all conditions for safe operation are met, and it will supervise the facility once it is running. Posiva must also submit a periodic safety assessment and an updated long-term safety justification within ten years. Climate and Environment Minister Sari Multala said Finland would launch the first such facility in the world after more than 40 years of systematic work.
For the Baltic region, the decision settles a question that nuclear fleets around the sea still face. Finland, Sweden and Lithuania all operate or have operated reactors, and the waste route is a precondition for any new nuclear build in the region.
