China General Nuclear (CGN) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to develop accelerator-driven systems, which could be used to transmutate used nuclear fuel or run subcritical nuclear reactors powered by thorium. CGN said the agreement on Accelerator-Driven Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems (ADANES) would be based on "complementary advantages, win-win cooperation and common development" in the research and development of accelerator-driven systems. "By signing this agreement, the two sides will further establish long-term strategic alliances and partnerships to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear energy systems," it said. Cooperation between CGN and CAS is of long standing. A framework agreement on scientific and technical cooperation and an agreement on the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment project was signed in September 2006.
