The United States, Japan and eight other countries have agreed to jointly develop a series of new nuclear energy systems by 2030, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said Friday in Tokyo.
The agreement was reached at a policy-group meeting of the Generation IV International Forum held Thursday and Friday.
The pact calls for commercializing fourth-generation nuclear energy systems after the current decade but before 2030, Abraham said in a statement.
"Generation-four nuclear energy systems will be able to recycle the most troublesome constituents of spent nuclear fuel, thereby vastly reducing the quantity of highly radioactive waste to be disposed of," Abraham told a news conference.
The six energy systems to be developed involve: developing a gas-cooled fast reactor, a lead alloy liquid metal-cooled reactor, a molten salt reactor, a sodium liquid metal-cooled reactor, a supercritical water-cooled reactor, and a very high temperature gas reactor, Abraham said.
Initiated by the U.S., the forum consists of government representatives from the 10 countries and meets regularly to discuss cooperation on fourth-generation nuclear energy systems.
Abraham is visiting Japan to attend the eighth International Energy Forum meeting.
The members of GIF are Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland and the U.S.