A new collaboration agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community, represented by the JRC Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), and the Centre à Énergie Atomique (CEA, FR) will significantly advance cooperative research in domains of common interest: high level nuclear waste minimization and management, safety of advanced reactor concepts and fuel cycles and issues in basic nuclear science.

The agreement, signed for five years, specifically addresses the measurement of nuclear data to:

• Improve of the quality of neutron data in the interest of applications by improvement of physics models through dedicated experiments and theoretical developments.
• Assess the viability and performance of various proposals, which are being investigated with the aim to reduce the volume of high level nuclear waste in the final repository.
• Support to studies of the viability and performance of advanced reactor concepts, which are being developed to increase the safety and sustainability of nuclear fission energy.

Through joint efforts of the CEA and the JRC, new approaches can be identified and developed in the areas of neutron measurements and evaluations for nuclear waste transmutation, safety of reactor concepts and issues in nuclear science, thus working to the mutual benefit of both organisations in the achievement of their objectives.

What is the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM)?

The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), a Directorate-General of the European Commission (EC). IRMM is one of the world's leading reference material producers, expert adviser in food safety and quality and bioanalysis as well as a valued provider of reference measurement data. Presently, IRMM operates four Community Reference Laboratories. Its management system is certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 and its units hold several accreditations.