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Disclaimer This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any of its employees make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe upon privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendations, or favoring by the United States Government. The views and opinions expressed by the authors herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. This report has been reproduced from the best copy available. Available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the public from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20585 I-NERI — 2005 Annual Report Foreword The International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (I-NERI) was established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in fiscal year (FY) 2001 as a mechanism for conducting collaborative research and development (R&D) with international partners in advanced nuclear energy systems development. I-NERI was created in response to recommendations of the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in the Committee’s 1999 report entitled Powerful Partnerships: The Federal Role in International Cooperation on Energy Innovation. The international collaborative research of I-NERI allows DOE to better leverage its economic resources, expand its knowledge base on nuclear science and engineering, and establish valuable intellectual relationships with researchers from other countries. Current collaborating countries and international organizations include: Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency. I-NERI R&D directly supports the goals and objectives of DOE’s Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative, the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, and the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative. In FY 2005, a new Implementing Arrangement was signed with Japan, and new projects were initiated with Brazil, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. The I-NERI Program also promotes the education of our future nuclear scientists and engineers. In 2005, 85 students from undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs participated in I-NERI research projects at 12 U.S. universities. This annual report describes the FY 2005 programmatic accomplishments and summarizes progress on I-NERI research projects initiated in FY 2002 through FY 2005 based on information submitted by the principal investigators. Dennis R. Spurgeon, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy U.S. Department of Energy i I-NERI — 2005 Annual Report ii I-NERI — 2005 Annual Report Table of Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................ i 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 Background .................................................................................................................................................. 1 3.0 I-NERI Program Description ........................................................................................................................... 2 4.0 I-NERI Program Accomplishments .................................................................................................................. 4 5.0 U.S./Brazil Collaboration ................................................................................................................................ 9 6.0 U.S./Canada Collaboration ........................................................................................................................... 13 7.0 U.S./European Union Collaboration ............................................................................................................... 43 8.0 U.S./France Collaboration ............................................................................................................................ 71 9.0 U.S./Japan Collaboration.............................................................................................................................111 10.0 U.S./Republic of Korea Collaboration ............................................................................................................117 11.0 U.S./OECD Collaboration .............................................................................................................................167 Index of I-NERI Projects ......................................................................................................................................173 iii I-NERI — 2005 Annual Report iv I-NERI — 2005 Annual Report 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Background The International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative In January 1997, President Clinton requested that his (I‑NERI) supports the National Energy Policy by conducting Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) research to advance the state of nuclear science and review the current national energy R&D portfolio and technology in the United States (U.S.). I‑NERI sponsors provide a strategy to ensure that the U.S. has a program to innovative scientific and engineering research and address the Nation’s energy and environmental needs for development (R&D) in cooperation with participating the next century. In its November 1997 report responding countries. The research performed under the I‑NERI to this request, the PCAST Energy R&D Panel determined umbrella addresses the key issues affecting the future of that ensuring a viable nuclear energy option to help meet nuclear energy and its global deployment. I‑NERI research the U.S. future energy needs was of great importance. is directed towards improving cost performance, increasing The panel thereby recommended that a properly focused proliferation resistance, enhancing safety, and improving R&D effort should be implemented by the U.S. Department the waste management of future nuclear energy systems. of Energy (DOE) to address the principal obstacles to A link to the program website can be found at http://www. achieving the nuclear energy option. The DOE R&D nuclear.gov/programoffices.html. effort was also to focus on improving cost performance, This I‑NERI 2005 Annual Report serves to inform increasing proliferation resistance, enhancing safety, and interested parties about the program’s organization, improving the waste management of nuclear energy progress of the collaborative research projects, and future systems. plans for the program. It covers I‑NERI activity since FY In response to the PCAST recommendations, DOE 2002. established the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) Section 2 of this report discusses background in 1999. Information and annual reports on the NERI information on the series of events that led to the creation program are available at the NERI website: http://neri. of the I‑NERI program. The participating countries ne.doe.gov. in current I‑NERI collaborative agreements are also Recognizing the need for an international component of presented. the NERI program, PCAST issued a subsequent report in Section 3 presents an overview of program goals and June of 1999 entitled Powerful Partnerships: The Federal objectives, a work scope summary for the three constituent Role in International Cooperation on Energy Innovation, program areas, a description of the I‑NERI organization, which promotes “bilateral and multilateral research focused and an overview of funding since the program’s inception. on advanced technologies for improving the cost, safety, waste management, and proliferation resistance of nuclear A summary of programmatic accomplishments is fission energy systems.” The report further states, “The presented in Section 4 highlighting key activities for each costs of exploring new technological approaches that year of the program, areas of research under each bilateral might deal effectively with the multiple challenges posed agreement, and a profile of participating organizations. by conventional nuclear power are too great for the United This section also identifies the ten projects completed in FY States or any other single country to bear, so that a pooling 2005. of international resources is needed...” Details of the R&D work scope for current I‑NERI The I‑NERI component of NERI was established in FY collaborative projects with Brazil, Canada, the European 2001 in response to PCAST recommendations. The I‑NERI Union, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the activity is designed to enhance DOE’s ability to leverage its Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development limited research funding for nuclear technology research (OECD) are presented in Sections 5 through 11, with additional funding from other countries. respectively. For each participating country, the report presents an index of projects and collaborating organizations, along with a summary of technical accomplishments achieved by each project in FY