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Australia to be part of partnerships

Friday, 7 September 2007

The Australian government has announced that it will seek to join the USA's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. Talks will take place between the current GNEP members at an upcoming ministerial meeting in Vienna.

The Australian government has announced that it will seek to join the USA's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). Talks will take place between the current GNEP members at an upcoming ministerial meeting in Vienna.

On 16 September, immediately before the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference, ministers from China, France, Japan, Russia, the USA and other countries will meet to "agree to a common set of goals for GNEP's existence and implementation." US Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Dennis Spurgeon, announced the meeting on 6 September at the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium in London.

The inclusion of Australia in talks, and possibly GNEP, would mean a major uranium-supplying country would have joined some of the leading technology nations and future nuclear power users in supporting GNEP. Another uranium giant, Canada, is also said to be interested in participation.

GNEP is a US-led initiative that would see nuclear fuel cycle technology consolidated in certain advanced nuclear power nations, with the aim of enhancing the availability of nuclear power across the world. The 'fuel-cycle' nations would provide stable supplies of nuclear fuel to client nations, and take the highly-radioactive used fuel back for reprocessing and subsequent recycling in advanced reactors, which would also destroy some wastes.

Spurgeon said: "At its most fundamental core, GNEP seeks to overcome the barriers that have faced the global nuclear industry for decades."

The Australian announcement comes after talks between prime minister John Howard and US President George Bush at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. The pair also agreed to work towards a post-2012 'global accord' on climate and that Australia would join the USA's Futuregen International Partnership to develop clean coal technology.

The USA agreed to support Australia's membership of the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF), a group of ten countries plus the European Union, that intends to develop very advanced nuclear power reactors for use after about 2030. Howard announced in April that he would apply to join GIF.

The nuclear agreements are part of a new Nuclear Energy Action Plan which would see the two nations further strengthen nuclear cooperation.

Further information

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

WNA's Australian Uranium and Who Buys It information paper
WNA's US Nuclear Power Industry information paper
WNA's Generation IV Nuclear Reactors information paper

WNN: International support for nuclear energy cooperation
WNN: Australian uranium policy moves on