JRC and VTT strengthen nuclear ties
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has signed new collaborative agreements with Finland's Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) on the safer, cleaner and healthier use of energy and chemicals. The agreements, on 'energy and the environment' and the 'health impact of chemicals' further strengthen the long-standing collaboration between the JRC and VTT. 'It is essential that major multidisciplinary institutes, such as the JRC and VTT work in close cooperation,' said VTT President and CEO Erkki KM Leppävuori. 'By building synergies on joint research programmes and initiatives, the larger European scientific and R&D [research and development] sector can achieve more for the citizen than working alone.' Director-General of the JRC, Roland Schenkel, emphasised how the full potential of EU research policy can only be realised if appropriate links with scientific organisations at international, national and regional level are in place. 'With over 40 Finnish organisations already working closely with the JRC, Finland is clearly committed to playing its part,' he said. The new agreements come at the same time as the launch of a new Network of Excellence, involving both the JRC and VTT, on nuclear plant life prediction. NULIFE is intended to improve understanding of the factors affecting the lifetime of nuclear power plants, and ultimately extend period over which current plants can be safe and economically viable. The network is also intended to contribute to the design of future generations of nuclear power plant. According to the European Nuclear Society (ENS) there are currently 203 nuclear power plant units with an installed electric net capacity of 171 858 MWe in operation in Europe (including Russia and Ukraine). A further 10 units with 9 836 MWe are under construction in five countries. Lifetime assessment requires knowledge not only of the ageing of materials and compounds, but also of factors such as load effects and reactor water chemistry. For this reason, NULIFE involves actors from several disciplines. At the heart of NULIFE are 10 leading research institutions, technical support organisations and industrial enterprises from across Europe. This core group will be supported by 27 associate organisations and collaborating partners. NULIFE has a total budget of €8 million, €5 million of which comes from the EURATOM section of the Commission's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).
Countries
Finland