Overview of the I-NERI Program


The International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (I-NERI) is designed to foster collaborative research and development (R&D) with international partners in advanced nuclear energy systems. The program addresses key issues affecting the future global use of nuclear energy by improving cost performance, increasing proliferation resistance, enhancing safety, and improving the waste management of future nuclear energy systems.

I-NERI supports scientific and engineering R&D that is closely linked to the principal research programs sponsored by the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE):

  • Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) Program. The AFCI Program is part of the President's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and will provide R&D on technologies needed to markedly reduce the problem of nuclear waste treatment and reduce the proliferation risk.
     
  • Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative. The Generation IV program aims to develop next-generation nuclear energy systems that offer advantages in the areas of economics, safety and reliability, and sustainability, and can be commercially deployed by 2030.
     
  • Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI). The goal of the U.S. Hydrogen Program is to develop the technologies and infrastructure to economically produce, store, and distribute hydrogen for use in fuel cell vehicles and electricity generation. As one component of this program, NHI aims to produce hydrogen on a commercial scale through nuclear energy systems.

DOE has implemented collaborative agreements with five countries and two international organizations: Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). The I-NERI Program also promotes the education of our future nuclear scientists and engineers. In 2005, 85 students from undergraduate through doctoral degree programs participated in sponsored research projects at 12 U.S. universities.

The I-NERI component of the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) was established in FY2001 in response to recommendations made in a June 1999 report by the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The program enhances the Department's ability to leverage its limited research funding with nuclear technology research from other countries, while also providing the United States greater credibility and influence in international activities associated with the application of nuclear technologies.