The two leading UK nuclear energy research establishments have signed an agreement to work more closely with one another.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority's fusion arm Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) leads UK work on fusion. The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is focused on research related to the nuclear fission fuel cycle.
The collaboration is will include working jointly on topics such as materials research, advanced computing technology, modelling and simulation, robotics and remote handling and neutronics, all of which are relevant to both nuclear fission and fusion energy.
The two organisations will also work closely on important nuclear research facilities. They are already both partners in the National Nuclear Users Facility, along with the University of Manchester's Dalton Cumbrian Facility, and will extend this collaboration to include other relevant research facilities in some of the topic areas listed above.
The Memorandum of Understanding agreement reflects the fact that CCFE and NNL each have a great deal of technology, skills, experience, capabilities and resources which could be relevant to the other, and working more closely together will help to maximise the benefits from these areas of synergy.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority's CEO Professor Steve Cowley said:
I am delighted to formalise CCFE's strong working relationship with NNL. Our increasing emphasis on fusion technology issues means that the overlap with advanced fission technologies is growing more significant all the time. I look forward to working closely with NNL and personally with Paul in the future.
NNL's Managing Director, Professor Paul Howarth, said:
This agreement is great news for both NNL and CCFE. We are increasingly identifying areas where it makes sense for NNL to be working with CCFE and capturing these in a formal agreement is going to help us to realise the benefits of joint working more effectively.
