While nuclear power plants are gradually being shut down in the rest of Germany, the research reactor in Garching could be restarted after almost two years of standstill. If it weren’t for the garbage problem.
On December 31, 2021, Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power was one step closer. The nuclear power plants in Gundremmingen, in Grohnde in Lower Saxony and in Brokdorf in Schleswig-Holstein were finally taken off the grid. The last three power plants, which generate energy by means of nuclear fission, should end at the end of this year. In Garching, on the other hand, operators and scientists are preparing to start up the research reactor Munich II (FRM II) again after almost two years of standstill due to a malfunction: The research neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz operated by the Technical University of Munich, which is considered one of the most powerful of its kind , is exempt from the nuclear phase-out. However, it is becoming an increasing problem in Garching that no solution has yet been found for the disposal of the spent fuel rods.