Abstract:
The Norwegian government has with the successful completion of the June 2006 “Symposium and Technical Workshop on Minimisation of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) in the Civilian Nuclear Sector” confirmed its engagement for minimizing the risk related to the continued use of fissile material in general and HEU in particular. One suggested concept in reducing risk associated with fissile material required for research is the concentration of research efforts in shared facilities. The increased global demand for nuclear energy also points towards the need for first class research facilities. Pooling resources makes sense as a way to maximise research efforts. But how should a shared facility work and function?
The OECD-Halden Reactor Project is a good example of operation of a shared research facility which has been in operation for nearly 50 years. The key ingredients being flexible project membership, active participation of project members, and a constantly evolving research programme. An overview of how this cooperation has worked and how the research facility has grown and developed will be presented in this paper.