The preceding RD&D-Programme from 2001 was concentrated on research and technology development. Research with a focus on the assessment of long-term safety was emphasized and viewpoints from previous reviews of SR 97 and RD&D-Programme 98 were dealt with in depth. SR 97 was an assessment of the long-term safety of a deep repository for spent nuclear fuel. This RD&D-Programme 2004 focuses its attention on the development of technologies for fabrication and sealing of canisters for final disposal of spent fuel.