Financial statement for 2023 of National Nuclear Waste Management Fund adopted

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has adopted the financial statement of the National Nuclear Waste Management Fund for 2023 and decided on the recognition of the profit of the Fund as revenue. The Fund consists of two separate funds, the Financial Provision Fund and the Research Fund for Nuclear Energy Expertise.

The purpose of the National Nuclear Waste Management Fund is to ensure that the society has sufficient funds and competence to implement nuclear waste management under all circumstances, if necessary. The Fund is not part of the Budget, and it operates under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

At the end of 2023, the balance sheet total of the Financial Provision Fund was about EUR 2.8 billion. The fund’s profit from the financial period, EUR 153,841,793, will be added to the fund shares of the entities responsible for waste management in proportion to their respective assets available to be used by the fund during the calendar year. The entities responsible for waste management are Fortum Power and Heat Oy, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
 
Funds are collected to the Financial Provision Fund included in the National Nuclear Waste Management Fund to prepare for a situation where the State would become liable for the future costs of nuclear waste management. The capital of the Financial Provision Fund is composed of nuclear waste management fees and returns from lending and investment operations. The entities responsible for waste management, i.e. those whose activities produce nuclear waste, are obliged to pay nuclear waste management fees. 

The EUR 2.8 billion in assets in the fund at the end of the financial period that has now been completed cover the costs of the remaining waste management of all nuclear waste generated in Finland. This amount also includes the dismantling costs of the existing nuclear facilities. 

Assets from the fund have been re-lent to the entities responsible for waste management, invested in serial bonds of the State of Finland and invested in the interest and stock market through asset managers.

The profit of the Research Fund, EUR 519,239.07, will be added to the capital of the Research Fund. Funds are collected annually to be used for funding research activities in the sector. In 2023 about EUR 7.84 million were collected for research. 

The fund allocated EUR 8,007,948 in funding for research projects on nuclear safety and nuclear waste management through the SAFER2028 research programme. EUR 503,375 was granted to the administrative project of the research programme. The other administrative costs of the Research Fund amounted to EUR 67,146. 

Inquiries:
Linda Kumpula, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 060 125
Jukka Järvinen, CEO of the Fund, tel. +358 295 047 357