P09 - Joint Research Centre – Directorate G-Nuclear Safety and Security (JRC) | Belgium

The Directorate General-Joint Research Centre, JRC, is the European Commission's science and knowledge service. Its mission is to support EU policies with independent evidence throughout the whole policy cycle. Its work has a direct impact on the lives of European Citizens by contributing with its research outcomes to a healthy and safe environment, secure energy supplies, sustainable mobility, and consumer’s health & safety. The JRC hosts specialised laboratories and unique research facilities and is home to thousands of scientists working to support EU policy. The JRC has 10 Directorates and is located across 5 EU Member States (i.e., Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain).

The JRC Directorate involved in H2020 IL TROVATORE is Directorate G – Nuclear Safety and Security (https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/about/jrc-site/karlsruhe), within which the JRC's nuclear work programme – funded by the EURATOM Research and Training Programme – is carried out. It contributes to the scientific foundation for the protection of the European Citizen against risks associated with the handling and storage of highly radioactive materials; and provides scientific & technical support for the conception, development, implementation, and monitoring of community policies related to nuclear energy. Research & policy support activities of the Directorate G contribute towards achieving effective safety and safeguards systems for the nuclear fuel cycle, and enhancing nuclear security, thus promoting low-carbon energy production.

Research programmes are carried out at the JRC sites in Germany (Karlsruhe), Belgium (Geel), The Netherlands (Petten) and Italy (Ispra) and consist of research, knowledge management and training activities on nuclear safety and security. They are performed in collaboration and/or in support to the EU Member States and relevant international organizations. Today, the Directorate G is one of the leading nuclear research establishments for nuclear science and technology and a unique provider of nuclear data measurements. Typical research and policy support activities are experimental and modelling studies covering nuclear reactor and fuel cycle safety, including current and innovative nuclear energy systems. Fundamental properties, irradiation effects and behaviour under nominal and accidental conditions are studied for nuclear fuels and structural materials. The activities cover also studies of structural integrity and functioning of nuclear components, emergency preparedness and radioactivity environmental monitoring, nuclear waste management and decommissioning, as well as the study of non-energy technological and medical applications of radionuclides. A dedicated functional entity is devoted to the management and dissemination of knowledge and to facilitate open access to JRC nuclear facilities, including training and education.

JRC – Directorate G contributes to IL TROVATORE by performing fuel/cladding interaction tests in WP5; these tests will study the interaction of standard nuclear fuels, such as UO2 and MOX, with the best-performing ATF clads.