Establishment of the Network of Excellence ACTINET

1. Establishment of the Network of Excellence ACTINET to achieve sustainable integration of European research on the physics and chemistry of actinides Pascal CHAIX (CEA) Jean-Paul GLATZ (ITU) Thomas FANGHANEL (FZK/INE) Aimé BRUGEMANN (SCK.CEN)

2. theContext The European Union should maintain a diversity of its sources of energy supply, to avoid depending on a limited number of sources (green paper).  Nuclear fission is likely to continue to contribute substantially to the European energy mix. Important issues remain, among them a broadly agreed approach to nuclear waste management: - behaviour of radwaste in disposal (and in particular long lived actinides) - treatment of radwaste: partitionning, waste matrices, transmutation targets… - better use of fissile resources (optimisation of current concepts, innovative concepts…) Actinide Sciences play an important role in that context. But: - Actinide sciences became less attractive for students, • Safety requirements heavy, Research expensive, • Fragmented scientific community…

3. ACTINET Objectives Research Programmes Dissemination of Knowledge Improve the accessibility of the major facilities in Europe to the actinide sciences community Strengthen excellence through an internal selection process for joint research projects Tools and Facilities Optimise the training and research programmes, and the infrastructure policy Reduce the fragmentation of the European actinide sciences community Stimulate use and dissemination of knowledge

4. ACTINET Members - 27 member organisations - a Core group - CEA coordinator

5. general policy, budget scientific guidance evaluation proposals EC calls for proposals everyday management approval support proposals ACTINET Organisation Governing Board Scientific Advisory Committee Executive Committee Management Team Collaborations between Member Organisations research and training activities

6. Pooled Facilities Pool parts of major facilities, primarily from the core group institutes, for the benefit of joint research projects involving members of the Network. Operate these pooled facilities as a multi-site user facility, and make it accessible to all members through a selection procedure by a Scientific Advisory Committee. • - improve regulations and procedures to allow or ease access to and use of some facilities, including mutual acceptance of safety certificates already obtained by researchers at their home institutions or at other ACTINET institutions, • - preserving compatibility between users, in particular between academic ACTINET users and industrial partners, including potential issues as confidentiality, planning… • - facilitating accommodation for ACTINET users, • - implementing or adapting the necessary trainings for ACTINET researchers, and last but not least, • - finding and implementing a viable economic model for the operation of the multi-site user facility in the long term.

7. Pooled Facilities • - CEA • LN1 Laboratory in Marcoule (spectroscopic and thermodynamics measures) • LECA micro analysis area in Cadarache (Nuclearised analytical tools) • DPC analytical platform in Saclay (speciation, retention, transport) • LLB An dedicated neutron scattering facilities in Saclay • LPS nuclear microprobe hot beam line in Saclay • - FZK-INE • Shielded hot cells, alpha glove boxes • Analytical platform • Speciation tools • Active multifunctional XAFS beam-line • - ITU • Instruments for An compounds solid state studies • Instruments for thermodynamics, thermophysics and irradiation damage studies • Instruments for solid-liquid interface chemistry • - SCK-CEN • LHMA hot cell facility, glove boxes • Nuclearised instruments for solid state studies • Nuclearised radio-chemical analysis • Project of Theoretical User Lab Atalante ITU

8. ACTINET : Joint Research Projects • Scientific projects will be • proposed by collaborations within the Network • evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Committee: • scientific excellence, • impact on integration, and • impact on applied issues of importance • accepted by the Executive Committee • financially supported with the European grant for integration

9. ACTINET : Joint Research Projects • Applied Issues: • Assessment of waste management strategies: • geological disposal of long-lived radioactive wastes, • partitioning and transmutation of long-lived radionuclides on an industrial scale, >> behaviour of materials containing actinides (fuels, waste matrices, transmutation targets), and >> chemistry of actinides in geochemical environments and in partitioning processes. • Support to operation and improvement of existing nuclear plants: • increased fuel burn-up, longer fuel cycles, extension of plant life, power up-rating, >> fuel behaviour under reactor conditions and after irradiation. • Assessment of innovative concepts for better use of fissile resources: • new fuels and associated waste management. >> requires considerable amount of experimental and modelling work.

10. ACTINET : Joint Research Projects • 3 scientific scopes : • Actinides in solution and solid phase, • Actinides in the geological environment, • Actinide materials under and after irradiation.

11. ACTINET : Joint Research Projects, 18 first months • - Actinides in solution and solid phases • R-01: Actinide coordination chemistry • R-02: Bio-inorganic chemistry of actinides • R-03: Electron transfer reactions involving actinides • R-04: Theoretical methods and models for actinide molecules • R-05: High and low temperature ionic liquids and related modelling • R-06: An compounds of reduced dimension systems • R-07: Actinides materials chemistry • - Actinides in the geological environment • R-11: Aqueous chemistry and thermodynamic of actinides • R-12: Interaction of actinides with mineral surfaces • R-13: Coprecipitation of actinides in secondary phases • R-14: Actinide interaction with colloids • R-15: Mechanisms of spent fuel and glass corrosion • R-16: Development and application of speciation methods • - Actinide materials under and after irradiation • R-21: Structural defects in binary and ternary actinide oxides • R-22: Behaviour of helium and volatile fission products in actinide materials • R-23: Impact of alpha decay on the behaviour of matrices

12. D SF Am Eu Selectivity M Am/Eu 40 10-1 30 10-2 20 10-3 10 0 TPZA TPZEN TPZPN TPZBN TPZTN (0.08M) TPZCN (0.05M) ACTINET : Education and Training • Promotion of An sciences among students. • Extending An undergraduate teaching by offering lecturers. • Diversification in post graduate teaching  possibility for students to develop contacts with the An sciences community, and to further postgraduate studies at other laboratories. • Specialisation at post-doctoral level  closer interaction between scientists at post-doctoral level and the whole community. • ACTINET Summer School, held every year alternately in Karlsruhe and Marcoule. >> ACTINET Summer School 2004 planned in Marcoule and Avignon 17-19 June, on “Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Liquid-Liquid Extraction”.

13. ACTINET : Dissemination of Knowledge • Diffusion of written information (web, journals). • Common workshops between ACTINET and other groups (including knowledge users and other EU Projects).  joint ACTINET + EUROPART + NFPro mid FP-6 meeting • Involvement in International Data Basis activities  seek consensus on experimental procedures to produce shared data : quality assurance. • Support recruitment of young scientists trained under ACTINET by the industry and agencies.

14. ACTINET : a Long Lasting Structure • ACTINET aims to achieve sustainable integration of European research on the physics and chemistry of actinides. • Progressively manage the set of pooled facilities as a multi-site user facility • Preserve compatibility with other programmes running in the facilities, potentially involving industrial partners • Promote common clearance procedures • Develop and implement a viable economical model