# Cabinet cannot yet say what burying nuclear waste will cost

> State Secretary Bertram says the final cost depends on choices not due until 2050, while the waste agency COVRA now estimates €11.1bn, and the waste producers pay through COVRA's tariffs.

Climate · published 2026-11-08 05:54 · https://nlnow.nl/a/cabinet-cannot-yet-say-what-burying-nuclear-waste-will-cost/

The exact cost of permanently storing radioactive waste in the Netherlands cannot yet be given, State Secretary Bertram of Infrastructure and Water Management told the Tweede Kamer in answers to parliamentary questions. The answers were also given on behalf of the state secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate. The current estimate of COVRA, the central radioactive waste storage organisation, is €11.1bn at 2025 prices.

Bertram said the final cost will depend, among other things, on the choice of location, the type of repository and the amount of waste to be stored. A decision on location and type is planned around 2050, and the closer to that decision, the more precisely the cost can be given, she said.

COVRA adjusted its estimate in 2024 and 2025. The new figure is higher than earlier ones because COVRA now counts on more waste from public and private initiatives in the nuclear sector.

Those who supply the waste pay for its disposal, through COVRA tariffs that differ per category, from nuclear power plants to hospitals. If the estimate rises, the tariffs in principle rise with it, Bertram said.

Asked how the disposal bill compares with the building budget for new nuclear power plants, she said no well-founded statement can be made, as both depend on several uncertainties. She said there is no direct link between total disposal costs and the investment size of new plants, but there is one between waste costs and the business case of new plants.

The second phase of COVRA's research programme COPERA, running from 2026 to 2030, has started. It examines disposal in clay or salt, deep boreholes, at the surface and at mid-depth. Parliament will be informed once the research is complete.

## Background

- **COVRA (Centrale Organisatie Voor Radioactief Afval)**: In English, COVRA is the Central Organisation for Radioactive Waste, the Dutch organisation responsible for radioactive waste produced in the Netherlands. It receives, processes and stores this waste at its site in Vlissingen-Oost while long-term disposal options are prepared. Its work is central to any discussion of what permanent storage of radioactive waste will cost.

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