The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) aims to have all necessary agreements in place by the end of 2003 to begin real R&D work by the start of 2004 on the six advanced nuclear systems the multinational consortium identified in 2002 (see NEI December 2002, p5) as the most promising for the future.
The GIF partners will soon establish multilateral R&D projects "process by process" and develop integrated research plans in all the areas deemed needed to advance the systems, according to Jacques Bouchard, director of nuclear energy at the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA). Negotiations will also be held in 2003 on intellectual property rights and technology usage rights.
