Nagra
Nagra is a Swiss cooperative mandated to plan and construct Terradura, Switzerland's deep geological repository for radioactive waste, using Opalinus Clay host rock at the Nördlich Lägern site. It is financed by nuclear power plant operators and the Swiss government under the polluter-pays principle.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1972
- HeadquartersWettingen, Switzerland
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Nagra does
Nagra, the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle), is a Swiss cooperative founded in 1972 and headquartered in Wettingen, Canton Aargau. It holds a statutory mandate to plan and construct Switzerland's deep geological repository for radioactive waste — the century-long infrastructure project now branded 'Terradura' (meaning 'durable earth'/'solid earth'). Nagra employs approximately 130 specialists in geology, physics, engineering, and communications to deliver a multi-barrier disposal system using Opalinus Clay as the host rock at the Nördlich Lägern site in Zürcher Unterland.
The underlying technology centers on a passive multi-barrier safety concept combining engineered barriers (disposal canisters, bentonite backfill) with natural geological barriers, validated through 30 years of research at the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory and full-scale emplacement experiments. Calculated radiation doses are designed to remain well below 0.1 millisieverts per year under pessimistic assumptions. Two wholly-owned subsidiaries — Nagra gTL AG for repository construction/operation and Nagra BEVA AG for encapsulation facilities — were created in April 2024, modeled on the AlpTransit organizational approach.
Nagra's business model is non-commercial and government-mandated. As a cooperative, it is financed by its members — Swiss nuclear power plant operators, Zwischenlager Würenlingen AG, and the Swiss Confederation — under the polluter-pays principle, with disposal costs embedded in current electricity prices and reviewed every five years via cost studies. The entity holds ISO 9001:2015 certification, submitted general licence applications in autumn 2024, and targets a Federal Council licensing decision around 2031, with construction starting in the mid-2030s and first radioactive waste emplacement from approximately 2050.
Nagra firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nagra
- Legal name
- Nagra, National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste
- Website
- https://nagra.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1972
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Nagra is a Swiss cooperative mandated to plan and construct Terradura, Switzerland's deep geological repository for radioactive waste, using Opalinus Clay host rock at the Nördlich Lägern site. It is financed by nuclear power plant operators and the Swiss government under the polluter-pays principle.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nagra industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nuclear Waste Disposal Services
- NAICS
- Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)
- SIC
- Hazardous Waste Management (4955)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Nuclear Waste Management & Geological Disposal (EUACADAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Repository siting & site investigations (geology, hydrogeology, seismic, EIA support) (EUAKAGAF), Performance assessment, safety case & long-term monitoring (modeling, PA/SR, instrumentation) (EUAKAGAJ), Regulatory compliance, licensing & stakeholder engagement for disposal (permits, public consultation, communications) (EUAKAGAK), Repository operations & waste emplacement (handling systems, emplacement, ventilation) (EUAKAGAI)
Keywords
Where Nagra is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wettingen
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Nagra business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Government-mandated financing: Nagra is financed by nuclear power plant operators (the operators of the nuclear power plants), the Zwischenlager Würenlingen AG, and the Swiss Confederation as its cooperative members. They fund the disposal costs according to the polluter-pays principle. Disposal costs for waste from nuclear power plants are included in today's electricity price. Financing is reviewed every five years through a cost study.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Nagra product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nagra is the Swiss National Cooperative mandated to plan and construct Terradura, Switzerland's deep geological repository for the permanent, long-term disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The repository uses a multi-barrier system combining engineered components (steel disposal canisters, bentonite backfill) with the natural geological barrier of Opalinus Clay host rock at the Nördlich Lägern site to safely isolate radioactive waste for hundreds of thousands of years. Operations are executed through Nagra gTL AG (repository construction and operation) and Nagra BEVA AG (encapsulation plant construction and operation).
Product overview
Nagra operates as a single-product organization centered on Terradura, Switzerland's deep geological repository. The cooperative's sole mission is planning and constructing this century project for permanent disposal of radioactive waste. The repository system employs a multi-barrier approach combining engineered components (disposal canisters, bentonite backfill) with natural geological barriers (Opalinus Clay host rock at the Nördlich Lägern site). Nagra gTL AG and Nagra BEVA AG are subsidiary entities handling repository construction/operation and encapsulation facility construction/operation respectively.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Terradura Deep Geological Repository Switzerland's planned deep geological repository for the permanent long-term disposal of radioactive waste, employing a multi-barrier system that combines engineered barriers (disposal canisters, bentonite backfill) with the natural geological barrier of Opalinus Clay at the Nördlich Lägern site in northern Switzerland. Designed to isolate, contain, and immobilize radioactive waste for hundreds of thousands of years with passive safety requiring no human intervention.
Quantifiable outcome
- Radioactive waste from low and intermediate level waste reaches comparable toxicity to granite rocks after approximately 30,000 years. For spent fuel containing uranium, this threshold is reached after approximately 200,000 years.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Nagra
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Nagra technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Nagra partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Nagra gTL AG (subsidiary)coreNagra established Nagra gTL AG as a wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for the construction and operation of the deep geological repository. This follows the organizational model of AlpTransit, which has proven successful for major Swiss infrastructure projects.
- Nagra BEVA AG (subsidiary)coreNagra established Nagra BEVA AG as a wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for the construction and operation of the encapsulation facilities. The decision was unanimously approved by Nagra's cooperative members at an extraordinary general meeting.
- Mont Terri Rock Laboratory ConsortiumcoreThe Mont Terri Rock Laboratory, where Opalinus Clay research has been conducted since 1996, involves multiple countries conducting investigations. Research results from this international scientific community support the demonstration of post-closure safety for Switzerland's deep geological repository.
- Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)coreThe SFOE leads the sectoral planning procedure for deep geological repositories and provides information on regional participation. Nagra submitted its general licence application in autumn 2024.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
Nagra competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ANDRA: France's national radioactive waste management agency, mandated to design and operate the Cigéo deep geological repository. Direct functional peer: state-mandated implementer of long-term radioactive waste disposal, with comparable regulatory, siting, and public engagement challenges.
- COVRA: Netherlands' central organization for radioactive waste, operating the HABOG interim storage facility and planning long-term disposal. Direct peer: comparable regulatory framework, end-of-cycle spent fuel/waste custody chain.
- Posiva: Finnish nuclear waste company operating the Onkalo spent fuel repository at Eurajoki, the world's first operating deep geological repository for HLW. Closest execution peer: comparable technical scope (crystalline/clay host rock options, encapsulation, multi-barrier concept) and is already in operational deployment.
- NUMO: Japan's Nuclear Waste Management Organization, implementing geological disposal of HLW with volunteer-municipality siting. Direct peer: same product (deep geological repository), same regulatory licensing sequence, with comparable public acceptance hurdles.
- ENRESA: Spain's national radioactive waste company, managing low and intermediate level waste (El Cabril) and planning for HLW. Direct peer: national mandate for radioactive waste management with similar multi-decade project structure.
- ONDRAF/NIRAS: Belgian national agency for radioactive waste and enriched fissile materials, responsible for long-term management including the planned surface disposal facility at Dessel. Direct peer: comparable regulatory model, long-term disposal mandate, and similar public engagement approach.
- BGE / BGE TECHNOLOGY: Germany's federal company for radioactive waste disposal, tasked with site selection for a deep geological repository (currently Gorleben/Saldenburg standortauswahl process). Direct peer: national mandate, comparable siting methodology, and policy-driven project governance.
- NWMO: Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization, responsible for implementing Canada's Adaptive Phased Management approach for used nuclear fuel. Direct peer: similar long-term disposal mandate, multi-barrier concept, public engagement, and ~2050 operational target.
- SKB: Sweden's nuclear fuel and waste management company, developing the Forsmark KBS-3 repository. Direct peer: national cooperative-style mandate for HLW disposal, multi-barrier concept, ongoing licensing process with government and municipality.
Others
- Nagra's Mont Terri Consortium Partners: International research consortium (Andra, Enresa, NWMO, Obayashi, RWM, and others) operating the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory alongside Nagra. Strategic peers/partners: comparable deep geological disposal R&D programs that share research infrastructure with Nagra and could become licensing partners or competitors for international advisory work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nagra social profiles
Digital presenceNagra compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Nagra financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nagra leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Nagra subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Nagra funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nagra M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nagra
What does Nagra do?
Nagra is the Swiss National Cooperative mandated to plan and construct Terradura, Switzerland's deep geological repository for the permanent, long-term disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The repository uses a multi-barrier system combining engineered components (steel disposal canisters, bentonite backfill) with the natural geological barrier of Opalinus Clay host rock at the Nördlich Lägern site to safely isolate radioactive waste for hundreds of thousands of years. Operations are executed through Nagra gTL AG (repository construction and operation) and Nagra BEVA AG (encapsulation plant construction and operation).
Is Nagra a public or private company?
Nagra is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Nagra founded?
Nagra was founded in 1972. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Nagra based?
Nagra is headquartered in Wettingen, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Nagra make money?
One revenue line is on record: government-mandated financing.
Who are Nagra's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ANDRA, COVRA, Posiva, NUMO, ENRESA, ONDRAF/NIRAS, BGE / BGE TECHNOLOGY, NWMO and SKB. Nagra's Mont Terri Consortium Partners is listed as an others.
Does Nagra have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nagra.
What industry is Nagra in?
Nagra's product category is Nuclear Waste Disposal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUACADAM, Nuclear Waste Management & Geological Disposal, with a secondary code of EUAKAGAF, Repository siting & site investigations (geology, hydrogeology, seismic, EIA support). Its NAICS code is 562211 and its SIC code is 4955.