Bilateral Cooperation

In some of its work, the Office of Nuclear Energy Policy and Coooperation works with individual nations on a bilateral basis through:

• The International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (I-NERI),
• Negotiated Action Plans,
• The International Nuclear Cooperation (INC) framework. 

I-NERI (International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative)

I-NERI was established by the Office of Nuclear Energy in 2001 to conduct R&D with international partners in advanced nuclear energy systems development.  I-NERI supports scientific and engineering R&D linked to the Office of Nuclear Energy’s principal research programs.  Current I-NERI collaborators include Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Action Plans

Action Plans allow both countries to undertake R&D more efficiently by collaborating in key facilities and technologies unique to each party. INEPC has facilitated and supported negotiation of Action Plans with Russia, Japan, China and Australia.

• The U.S.-Russia Bilateral Action Plan, signed on December 11, 2006, resulted from meetings of the U.S.-Russia Civil Nuclear Energy Working Group.  The parties agreed to collaborate on recycling, fuel fabrication, fast reactors, exportable reactors suitable for developing countries, safeguards and international fuel services.



• The U.S.-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan (JNEAP) was signed on April 18, 2007.  Two months later, the first JNEAP steering committee set up plans for Phase I for the six R&D working groups.  The second steering committee meeting on May 23, 2008 completed Phase I and inaugurated Phase II, which will move past the planning stage and focus on the scope of R&D collaboration.  The next plenary working group and steering group meetings will be held in late 2009 in the United States. 



• The U.S.-China Bilateral Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperative Action Plan was signed September 18, 2007 in Vienna, and the first steering committee met on November 28, 2007 in Beijing. The first technical working group meeting took place April 23-24, 2008 at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. Most recently, the technical working group met in Beijing, May 20-21, 2009, where U.S. and Chinese delegations laid out a scope of research and development for three working groups: advanced fuel cycle technology, fast reactor technology and safeguards and physical protection technology.
  
  
  
  China-U.S. Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperative R&D Second Technical Working Group Meeting, May 2009



• The U.S.-Australia Bilateral Action Plan was signed on August 30, 2007.



• INEPC also leads coordination efforts of the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Energy Working Group.  This cooperation, currently in initial stages of re-constitution, envisions a series of meetings to develop a scope of cooperation in light of the U.S.-India 123 Agreement, which went into effect in October 2008.
  
  
  U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Energy Working Group Meeting at INL, April 2009

International Nuclear Cooperation (INC)

The INC framework, formerly the International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP), is a cooperative effort with Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union to reduce risks at Soviet-designed nuclear power plants.  Countries of current focus include Armenia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.  INC has successfully introduced modern safety practices and technology into Ukraine’s operating reactors, supported shutdown of the BN-350 fast reactor in Kazakhstan and upgraded safety at Soviet-era reactors in Armenia and Bulgaria .  In addition, as part of its Ukrainian Nuclear Fuel Qualification Project (UNFQP), INC is supporting the testing necessary for Westinghouse to provide nuclear fuel for Russian VVER 1000 reactors operating in Ukraine.