Dear colleagues, We are happy to invite you to save the date for the next International Conference on Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement (Clay Conference) 2024 in Hannover, Germany from November 25th to 28th 2024. The conference will include oral presentations and poster sessions. Moreover, workshops and technical visits will be organised. The conference will take place on site in Hannover. We will send out the call for contributions with one of the following circulars. The focus of the Clay Conference is clay as host rock for geological disposal of radioactive waste and the use of compacted swelling clays as an engineered barrier component. Considering design, construction, operation and post-closure, the Clay Conference provides a unique networking platform for sharing scientific and technological knowledge. This involves gathering together experienced specialists and newcomers from various disciplines related to clays, as well as scientists and technicians from organisations engaged in radioactive waste disposal or in other uses of the subsurface in which clay barriers play an important role. We particularly encourage young scientists in all fields of nuclear safety and waste management to present their research findings at the Clay Conference 2024. The programme will feature a balanced mix of high-level keynote speeches, oral presentation sessions and poster presentations, with ample time for informal contacts and lively discussions. It will cover a wide range of topics related to natural argillaceous geological barriers and clay-based engineered barrier systems, including laboratory experiments on clay samples, in situ experiments in underground research laboratories, mock-up demonstrations, natural analogues, numerical modelling, system integration approaches and monitoring. Most important information regarding the 9th Clay Conference 2024: When: 25th -28th November 2024, social and scientific supporting program on the 24th and 29th of November 2024 What: Oral presentations and posters on topics such as characterisation and modelling of undisturbed clay-based systems; characterisation, conceptual understanding and modelling of host rock and repository interaction processes with time and repository construction and operation; long-term performance and monitoring for clay-based disposal systems; supplemented by a scientific supporting program Where: Hannover, Germany at Hannover Congress Centrum (HCC) Organiser: Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung BGE) in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe BGR) Website: coming soon For questions about the 9th Clay Conference 2024, please contact secretary@clayconference2024.de<mailto:secretary@clayconference2024.de>