On October 18, the Signing Ceremony of MOU on China joining the Fourth Generation International Forum on Nuclear Energy Systems (GIF) Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) Program was launched in Weihai, Shandong Province, in the presence of Chen Linhao, vice director of International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Hideki Kae, GIF Chairman, and Alessandro Alemberti, Chairman of the lead-cooled Express Reactor Fast Reactor Program, as well as the member representatives from OECD/NEA, CAEA and GIF. Mr. Wu Xuancan, head of Nuclear Energy Safety Technical Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, signed the memorandum of cooperation on behalf of Chinese side.
Lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) is one of the six reference reactor types of the fourth-generation nuclear energy system, with excellent neutron physical characteristics, thermal hydraulic performance and safety characteristics. The above-mentioned Nuclear Safety Technical Institute has long been engaged in lead reactor research, including lead reactor design, key technology research and development, integration verification and so on.
In February 2019, the Technical Institute was designated as the Chinese leading unit to participate in the GIF lead-cooled fast-reactor program, aiming to coordinate the role of relevant domestic units in international cooperation.
GIF is an intergovernmental international organization dedicated to the research and development of the fourth generation of nuclear energy systems, which was established in 2001 by 10 countries, including the United States, Britain and France. China got on-board the GIF in 2006.
