Nagra

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.

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

Product category

Nuclear Waste Disposal Services

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)

SIC

Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEUACADAM

Nuclear Waste Management & Geological Disposal

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Electric Power Generation/Nuclear Power Generation

SECONDARYEUAKAGAF

Repository siting & site investigations (geology, hydrogeology, seismic, EIA support)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Nuclear Energy/Radioactive Waste Management & Disposal (LLW/ILW/HLW, Repositories)

SECONDARYEUAKAGAJ

Performance assessment, safety case & long-term monitoring (modeling, PA/SR, instrumentation)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Nuclear Energy/Radioactive Waste Management & Disposal (LLW/ILW/HLW, Repositories)

SECONDARYEUAKAGAK

Regulatory compliance, licensing & stakeholder engagement for disposal (permits, public consultation, communications)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Nuclear Energy/Radioactive Waste Management & Disposal (LLW/ILW/HLW, Repositories)

SECONDARYEUAKAGAI

Repository operations & waste emplacement (handling systems, emplacement, ventilation)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Nuclear Energy/Radioactive Waste Management & Disposal (LLW/ILW/HLW, Repositories)

Keywords

• Radioactive waste disposal
• Deep geological repository
• Nuclear waste management
• Spent fuel encapsulation
• Geological disposal facility

Headquarters

HQ city

Wettingen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Nagra gTL AG (subsidiary)coreOthers · 3 April 2024Nagra 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)coreOthers · 3 April 2024Nagra 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 ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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)coreOthersThe 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

Direct 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NagraFilme/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/NagraGenossenschaft
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nagra-nationale-genossenschaft-fuer-die-lagerung-radioaktiver-abfaelle
• Instagraminstagram.com/jahrhundertprojekt/?hl=de
• Xx.com/Nagra_Schweiz

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nagra