The goal of this project is to prepare the setting up of a “Joint Programming on Radioactive Waste Disposal” that would be established to coordinate at the European level, national research programmes and the associated research and development (R&D) activities on geological disposal for high activity long lived radioactive waste. This action includes reviewing of all strategic aspects linked to a stepwise move towards a Joint Programming in this field. This project will involve organisations that are active in the safety, management and disposal of radioactive waste and research entities. The first step of this project will be to engage in discussion with Member States representatives in order to clarify the organisation of their national R&D consistent with the implementation of the Council Directive. The second step will be to identify existing research programmes that could contribute to the identification of common scientific objectives and activities as well as specific aspects that the organisations would like to develop in the Joint Programme. The third step will be to draft the joint “Programme Document” that should be the technical background of the Joint Programming. The outcomes of the project will be (i) a preliminary evaluation of a potential in-kind and financial commitment of organisations, (ii) a “Programme Document” consisting of large programmes focused on key priorities of WMOs, TSOs side and Research Entities and (iii) a “Summary report” comprising a proposal for the implementation of this Joint Programming. This action will lead to the further integration of the interested research community and hence help to maintain and develop the EU leadership in knowledge and expertise for innovative radioactive waste management solutions that effectively matches public expectations. Moreover, it will further reinforce and make the interaction at EU level between WMOs, TSOs, industry, policy makers and the research community more effective.

The overall objective of the project is to develop and test the tools necessary for the assessment of the hydro-mechanical evolution of an installed bentonite barrier and its resulting performance. This will be achieved by cooperation between design and engineering, science and performance assessment. The evolution from an installed engineered system to a fully functioning barrier will be assessed. One of the challenges is to take into account initial heterogeneities introduced in the system by conception with a combination of block and pellets or due to the size of the bentonite component (several 100 m3). It will require a more detailed understanding of material properties, of the fundamental processes that lead to homogenisation, of the role of scale effects and improved capabilities for numerical modelling. The goal is to verify the performance of current designs for buffers, backfills, seals and plugs. The overall driver for the project is the assessment cases that will be defined at the onset of the project (WP1). The quantitative models currently available are not fully able to represent all the complexities of the evolution of an installed bentonite. A substantial effort is needed to improve both the conceptual approaches and the numerical solutions in the current models (WP3). The updated/newly developed models need to be tested and verified using available data (WP5). There are some areas where fundamental data and the understanding of materials are incomplete. An efficient experimental programme will support model development and testing (WP4). There is already a large database from experiments performed within EC projects and national programmes, both laboratory and Underground Research Laboratory (URL) experiments. Many of the tests have been performed with other purposes in mind, but the results can be used in the Beacon project. The objective of WP2 is to collect the relevant information and process it to a level where it can be used in this project

The Modern2020 project aims at providing the means for developing and implementing an effective and efficient repository operational monitoring programme, taking into account the requirements of specific national programmes. The work allows advanced national radioactive waste disposal programmes to design monitoring systems suitable for deployment when repositories start operating in the next decade and supports less developed programmes and other stakeholders by illustrating how the national context can be taken into account in designing dedicated monitoring programmes tailored to their national needs. The work is established to understand what should be monitored within the frame of the wider safety cases and to provide methodology on how monitoring information can be used to support decision making and to plan for responding to monitoring results. Research and development work aims to improve and develop innovative repository monitoring techniques (wireless data transmission, alternative power supply sources, new sensors, geophysical methods) from the proof of feasibility stage to the technology development and demonstration phase. Innovative technical solutions facilitate the integration and flexibility of required monitoring components to ease the final implementation and adaptation of the monitoring system. Full-scale in-situ demonstrations of innovative monitoring techniques will further enhance the knowledge on the operational implementation of specific disposal monitoring and will demonstrate the performance of the state-of-the-art, the innovative techniques and their comparison with conventional ones. Finally, Modern2020 has the ambition to effectively engage local citizen stakeholders in the R&D monitoring activity by involving them at an early stage in a repository development programme in order to integrate their concerns and expectations into monitoring programmes.