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International Forum To Collaborate on New Reactors

21 February 2006

U.S., France, Japan to develop clean advanced nuclear systems

The United States signed an agreement about sodium-cooled fast reactor systems with France and Japan February 16, providing the framework for collaboration among these countries on the research and development of advanced nuclear reactors.

According to a February 17 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) press release, the arrangement will support the development of technologies associated with the U.S.-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), announced earlier this month by DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman. (See related article.)

GNEP is a comprehensive strategy aimed at increasing U.S. and global energy security, encouraging clean development around the world, reducing the risk of proliferation and improving the environment.

“Expanding the generation of new nuclear technologies will allow the benefits of initiatives like GNEP to span the globe,” said R. Shane Johnson, acting director of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, and chairman of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Policy Group.

Nuclear systems are classified according to their generation as they have evolved through various technological stages. The sodium-cooled fast reactor is one of six fourth-generation nuclear systems in development.

The first-of-its-kind agreement relating to sodium-cooled fast reactor systems was signed after a three-day meeting of the GIF Policy Group in Fukui, Japan, with the 10 GIF member countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States -- and the European Union.

The agreement provides the framework for GIF countries to participate in collaborative research and development on sodium-cooled fast reactor technology.

Additional information on this and other DOE nuclear energy initiatives is available on the Energy Department Web site. 

Text of the DOE press release follows:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of Energy
Press release, February 17, 2006

Generation IV International Forum Signs Agreement to Collaborate on Sodium Cooled Fast Reactors

FUKUI , JAPAN – The Department of Energy today announced that the United States signed a sodium-cooled fast reactor systems arrangement with France and Japan, providing the framework for collaboration among these countries on the research and development of these advanced nuclear reactors.  The signing of the agreement took place on February 16, 2006.

This arrangement will support the development of technologies associated with the U.S.-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), announced earlier this month by Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.  GNEP is a comprehensive strategy aimed at increasing U.S. and global energy security, encouraging clean development around the world, reducing the risk of nonproliferation, and improving the environment.

“The signing of this arrangement is a key accomplishment that will hopefully garner international collaboration for developing innovative nuclear energy concepts,” said R. Shane Johnson, Acting Director, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology and chairman of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Policy Group. “Expanding the generation of new nuclear technologies will allow the benefits of initiatives like GNEP to span the globe.”

The first-of-its-kind arrangement was signed following a three-day meeting this week of the GIF Policy Group in Fukui, Japan, with the ten GIF member countries.  The agreement provides the framework for GIF countries to participate in collaborative research and development on sodium-cooled fast reactor technology.

The GIF Forum is an important component of President Bush’s comprehensive energy strategy, to investigate innovative nuclear energy concepts for meeting future energy challenges.  The ten member countries include: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

For more information on this and other DOE nuclear energy initiatives please visit the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology’s website at http://www.nuclear.gov/.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)