Ignalina spent fuel removed

In Lithuania, the last of the spent fuel has been removed from the reactors at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.

The European Union and 14 European governments supported the work through the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund (IIDSF), which is managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Completion of this stage is a key development in the overall decommissioning programme for Ignalina reactors 1 and 2.

Lithuania closed the Soviet RBMK-1500, graphite-moderated nuclear reactors at Ignalina in 2004 and 2009 as part of its commitments to EU accession. The ISFSF was opened in October 2016 and is administered through the IIDSF.

The EBRD-managed IIDSF is supported by the EU, which has provided 96% of the contributions, and Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.