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Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker

Mülheim-Kärlich Nuclear Power Plant

Active dismantling · Germany · Immediate dismantling

Updated 2026-10-11Last verified 2026-10-11Confidence: mediumJSON ↗

Mülheim-Kärlich, a 1,219 MWe PWR near Koblenz, ran for only 13 months before a licensing defect forced its shutdown in 1988. RWE has been dismantling it since 2004; conventional buildings including the cooling tower are gone and the reactor pressure vessel has been dismantled by remote handling since 2022.

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Current state

StatusActive dismantling
CountryGermany
LocationMülheim-Kärlich, Rhineland-Palatinate
SiteMülheim-Kärlich
UnitsKMK
Unit count1
Reactor typesPWR
Net capacity (MWe)1,219
Owner / licenseeRWE Nuclear GmbH
StrategyImmediate dismantling
Final shutdown1988-09-09
Decommissioning start2004-07-16
Spent fuelAll fuel removed by summer 2002.
Notable issueShut after only 13 months of operation due to formal licensing defects.

Timeline

  • 1988-09 — The plant was shut down after only 13 months of operation over formal licensing defects. (source)
  • 2002 — The last fuel elements, 99% of the radioactive inventory, were removed. (source)
  • 2004-07-16 — Rhineland-Palatinate approved decommissioning and the first dismantling phase. (source)
  • 2019 — Turbine building, switchgear building and cooling tower demolition was completed (2018/2019). (source)
  • 2022 — Dismantling of the reactor pressure vessel began, largely by remote handling. (source)

The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.

Related sites

See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →

Sources

  1. Dismantling plant Mülheim-Kärlich — RWE (primary), checked 2026-10-11
  2. Nuclear Power in Germany — World Nuclear Association, checked 2026-10-11