2009 Report to Government on National Research and

3.70 In the current FP7 programme (2007-2011) fusion is dominant, but a budget of
€287M has been allocated <strong>to</strong> fission research. The stated priority for fission is
establishment of a sound scientific and technical basis for better management
(safer and more resource-efficient, competitive and environment-friendly) of
energy and waste and the impact thereof. A further €517M has been allocated for
the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) activities in the nuclear sphere, which are
intended <strong>to</strong> support co-operative international activities in nuclear waste
management, environmental impact, nuclear security and nuclear safety. 8
European research activities are co-ordinated through the Sustainable Nuclear
Energy Technology Platform. 9 An EU Implementing Geological Disposal
Technology Platform (IGD-TP) is also being set up <strong>to</strong> provide a framework led by
industry <strong>to</strong> define R&D priorities, timeframes and action plans in this area.
CoRWM members made informal comments on the draft “vision document” for
the platform.
3.71 Only one FP7 Eura<strong>to</strong>m project is led by a UK institution: BGS was recently
awarded the ~£2M Fate of Reposi<strong>to</strong>ry Gases (FORGE) project on gas migration
(para. A.59). The FORGE project is designed <strong>to</strong> characterise and quantify the
conditions during geological disposal under which gas formation will occur with
sufficient pressure increase <strong>to</strong> result in radionuclide migration from the GDF in<strong>to</strong>
the surrounding host rock. The project will include model development <strong>to</strong>
underpin GDF designs that lie within a safe gas generation envelope.
3.72 A number of other FP7 Eura<strong>to</strong>m research projects relevant <strong>to</strong> the management of
higher activity wastes include one or more UK partners. These include:
• Actinide Recycling by Separation and Transmutation (ACSEPT) - 34
European partners including the Universities of Reading and Edinburgh, and
the NNL with a technical focus on separation and transmutation of actinide
elements. The <strong>to</strong>tal budget for this programme is €24M, of which €9M will be
funded by the EU. Approximately €4.5M will be spent in the UK (€3.9M by
NNL and €600K by universities), of which €1.6M will be funded by the EU.
• Treatment and Disposal of Irradiated Graphite and other Carbonaceous
Wastes (Carbowaste) - 27 partners including Amec, Bradtec, Doosan
Babcock, NDA, NNL and University of Manchester in the UK. This project
aims <strong>to</strong> develop an integrated waste management approach for existing
s<strong>to</strong>cks of irradiated graphite and carbonaceous waste and for future ones
such as graphite-based Generation IV reac<strong>to</strong>r systems (€3.4M <strong>to</strong> be spent
by UK organisations with EU contribution of €1.9M).
• Redox Phenomena Controlling Systems (RECOSY) - 32 partners, with
Loughborough and Manchester Universities and BGS in the UK as associate
partners. The objectives of RECOSY are the development of a sound
understanding of redox phenomena controlling the long-term
release/retention of radionuclides in nuclear waste disposal and the provision
of <strong>to</strong>ols <strong>to</strong> apply the results <strong>to</strong> performance assessment and safety cases.
3.73 Other EU projects include Fundamental Processes of Radionuclide Migration
(FUNMIG) and Near Field Processes (NF-Pro) (both run in FP6 and recently
8 http://www.europa.eu/
9 http://www.snetp.eu/
CoRWM Document 2543, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber <strong>2009</strong> Page 43 of 151