Stockholm plans $20 billion nuclear waste facility to motivate new investors

The Swedish government is preparing to allocate around $19.9 billion to build a new radioactive waste storage facility to stimulate energy companies to expand nuclear energy.

The funding forms part of the country’s spring budget, which also sets aside an additional $4 billion to expand nuclear energy capacity, including the construction of new reactors, according to Swedish media outlets.

Managing nuclear waste has long been a major concern for energy companies such as Sweden's Vattenfall, the largest energy company in Northern Europe. They have warned that the high costs could deter investment—especially if only a limited number of nuclear reactors are built to share the burden of a new storage system.

To address this, the government is proposing a new model in which the state would absorb part of the financial risk if a single operator is left shouldering large waste-related costs.

“We believe this is the best way to ensure that new nuclear power is built in Sweden,” said Niklas Wykman.

Under the proposal, spent nuclear fuel would be stored roughly 500 metres underground, with the facility expected to remain operational until 2159.

“This is an important and welcome step in the right direction,” added Desirée Comstedt, head of Vattenfall’s subsidiary Videberg Kraft.

The new plan would also see the government take a majority stake in future nuclear projects, raising concerns among legal experts that both profits and potential losses could ultimately fall on taxpayers.

While welcomed by the energy community, the proposal has drawn criticism from opposition figures, who argue the approach shifts too much responsibility onto taxpayers.

“It is completely unreasonable. It is the companies themselves who should bear this cost and risk, just like today,” said Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist.

Currently, Sweden’s system requires nuclear operators to pay into a waste fund based on electricity output, with fees having doubled over the past two decades.

A separate storage facility is already under construction beneath the sea at Forsmark, though it is designed to handle waste from the country’s first generation of reactors only.

By Nazrin Sadigova