Sogin CEO Gian Luca Artizzu and JRC Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Director Laurent Jerrige signed an agreement to implement and develop a common nuclear dismantling and radioactive waste management strategy at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Varese, Italy) this morning. Opened with greetings from Lombardy Regional Council President Federico Romani and Sogin President Carlo Massagli, the ceremony was attended by Varese Prefect Salvatore Rosario Pasquariello and Lombardia ARPA General Manager Fabio Cambielli, among others. The event also provided the occasion for Sogin Ispra-1 Site Decommissioning Manager Paolo Capoferro to illustrate the background and ongoing decommissioning activities currently being carried out by the Company at the Ispra-1 site.
With a renewable duration of five years, the agreement outlines three objectives: to promote cooperation in developing innovative approaches to solving technical and scientific problems in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management, to develop synergies and shared projects allowing to reduce times and costs of dismantling operations; to foster joint staff training initiatives, also in light of the experience gained by the Sogin Radwaste Management School and the European Commission ELINDER initiative.
‘With today's signature’, said Sogin CEO Gian Luca Artizzu, ‘we are establishing a relationship with the Ispra JRC with which we intend to pursue joint projects to foster innovation while becoming increasingly more efficient in decommissioning and radioactive waste management, two industrial sectors which are essential for returning to nuclear power and foster the country’s sustainable development’.
Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Director Laurent Jerrige at the European Commission's JRC observed that ‘the JRC is firmly committed to implementing its programme with maximum efficiency and in full compliance with the international and national regulatory framework, and Sogin is a strategic partner of the JRC for Italy’s nuclear development’.