04 February 2022
The summit brought together the national laboratories of Japan, France, USA, Canada, France, Canada, and Canada. They agreed to work together on research and innovation in order to achieve a net zero-energy economy.
(Image: IEA)
The aim of the event, hosted by the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), was to build on the COP26 summit – the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow in November.
Eight senior delegates from national laboratoriesCovering nuclear, renewables, and other low-carbon technologies, they agreed to collaborate to “a holistic understanding” of the future integrated energy system in order to develop technologies that are ready and able to deliver.
The UK government’s chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance said innovation had a key role in helping solve the climate challenge which “is a huge one for societies across the world… it’s an international issue and therefore requires international collaboration”.
NNL CEO Paul Howarth said the national laboratories had a “unique role” to play “bridging the gap between academia and industry and driving the innovation required for future technologies to deliver”.
The summit reached an agreement on a joint statement of intent.It was said that the discoveries made by national laboratories have improved the lives of billions of people.
It stated that the transition to net zero was driving fundamental changes in energy supply, demand, transmission distribution, storage, and use. It is essential to research and innovate in order to create, design, and manage a net-zero energy economy.
“An integrated system of energy can combine low-carbon sources of energy, such as renewables and nuclear, to provide reliable and affordable low carbon energy. This will also allow for energy services that benefit our communities.
It said, “By working together we have an opportunity for coordination and collaboration around our approach, and increase the likelihood of this decisive next ten years being successful.”
One of the areas of collaboration is hydrogen research “directly or as a feedstock to other synthetic fuels”. There will be exchange visits and papers, best practices on sustainability, and a commitment that they will meet annually to review the progress.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Kentaro Funaki said: “We are already partners in nuclear research and innovation … and we all have solid grounds to design, develop and deploy nuclear-renewable hybrid systems.”
JAEA said that it has been investigating the potential of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors for heat use and hydrogen production.
“We decided that we would participate in this initiative, in which research institutes from non-nuclear field also participate, because integrated energy systems require an all-out effort of the energy community, and not just the nuclear community,” it stated.
Marianne Walck, chief research officer for Idaho National Laboratory, said: “Transitioning to a low-carbon energy system is critically important for global sustainability, and integrated energy systems can harness the benefits of clean energy sources working together, including nuclear and renewables.”
Stephane Sarrade, from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, said the commission was proud to take part, saying it was “in line with French energy policy, based on the use and convergence of nuclear and renewable energies”.
Jeff Griffin, vice president Science and Technology at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, said: “CNL’s clean energy mission is driving research and development in hydrogen technology, advanced reactors and fuels and the sustainable operation of our current CANDU fleet … collective knowledge is a powerful tool, and we look forward to sharing our expertise, research and learning to help shape the energy systems of the future.”
Guy Newey is the strategy and performance director at Energy Systems Catapult. He stated that if we want to unleash the innovation needed to get to a net-zero global economy, it is essential we adopt an integrated approach that considers the roles of different technologies and markets as well as the people involved.
Doug Arent, Executive Director of Strategic Public Private Partnerships at the USA’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, added: “Building off many years of our domestic collaborations focused on low carbon integrated energy systems, we are excited to participate in this international collaboration among national laboratories.”
Written by World Nuclear News.
