Group is ‘bedrock of international research and development,’ says OECD head
An international forum dedicated to the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants has signed a framework agreement that will ensure collaboration continues beyond the expiration of the current agreement on 28 February 2025.
The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) said the new agreement, signed at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) premises in Paris, France, marks the start of “a new chapter” for advanced reactor development.
GIF is an international organisation established in 2001 that coordinates the development of Generation IV reactors.
Canada, France, Japan and Switzerland signed the new agreement at this week’s ceremony. The UK and the US signed the agreement in the margins of Cop29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.
The OECD said other major nuclear energy countries are expected to sign the agreement, which will enter into force on 1 March 2025, increasing what is a collaborative effort on deployment of Generation IV nuclear energy systems “at a time when all options to deliver low-carbon energy are critically needed”.
No precise definition of a Generation IV reactor exists, but the term is used to refer to nuclear reactor technologies under development.
GIF’s Six Generation IV Reactor Concepts
GIF provides a platform for collaborative research and development on six Generation IV reactor concepts: gas-cooled fast reactors; lead-cooled fast reactors; molten salt reactors; sodium-cooled fast reactors; supercritical-water-cooled reactors and very high-temperature reactors.
GIF also provides a forum for collaboration on general topics crucial to advancing nuclear systems such as safety and risk assessment, education and training, economic modelling, proliferation resistance and physical protection, advanced manufacturing, and non-electric applications such as hydrogen production and desalination.
OECD secretary general Mathias Cormann told ambassadors and delegates at the signing ceremony that this is GIF’s 24th year as the bedrock of international research and development on advanced reactor concepts with improved safety, performance, and proliferation-resistant features.
He said: “Work between national research laboratories, academia, and the private sector from GIF member countries under this framework continues to serve as among the world’s most important international initiatives in energy and science cooperation.”
The OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), which has supported GIF as the technical secretariat since its inception, will continue in this capacity under the new agreement.
NEA director-general William Magwood highlighted the importance of GIF’s work on new nuclear technologies.
“As someone who contributed to GIF’s launch in 2001, I have witnessed its growth and potential to support global progress in advanced nuclear energy systems,” he said. “This new agreement is not just a continuation; it will pave the way for GIF’s mission to support a new era for nuclear energy.”
