The Risø National Laboratory in Denmark is about to close an important chapter in its 40-year history. Under a new law passed this month, about 850 million Danish kroner (about 114 million euros) will be made available to decommission the lab’s nuclear facilities over the next 20 years. Dansk Dekommissionering will carry out the work, with some Risø staff transferring to the state-owned decommissioning company.
Originally founded to carry out research on atomic energy, Risø developed a more general energy focus and its nuclear research facilities were mothballed as nuclear power was given lower priority by successive governments. It will now concentrate on other energy technologies such as fuel cells, wind and wave energy.
“This marks a new era for Risø,” said Jørgen Kjems, the laboratory’s managing director. “We can now focus fully on research in new, sustainable energy technologies. This means that Denmark can play a progressive roll in meeting the Kyoto agreement to ensure a better global environment.”
