NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Jeanne Lopatto, 202/586-4940

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, May 14, 2001

Brussels – U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and European Union Commissioner for Research Philippe Busquin today signed agreements to conduct joint research in the areas of fusion energy and non-nuclear energy.

“As our agencies begin this cooperation in non-nuclear science and technology under the 1997 Science & Technology Agreement, we embark on a whole new era of collaboration,” Secretary Abraham said at a signing ceremony in Brussels. “This arrangement provides us with an opportunity to pursue alternatives to our mounting energy demands and help secure our needs for the future.”

The DOE/EU Implementing Arrangement in Non-Nuclear S&T is the first major legally-binding agency-to-agency agreement signed under the 1997 US/EU Government-to-Government S&T covering a wide range of potential cooperation in fossil energy, renewable energy and energy efficiency with an immediate focus on fuel cell technology and carbon sequestration.

“With the signing of the new umbrella fusion agreement , we look forward to continuing our many years of successful collaboration in the field of fusion research,” Secretary Abraham added. “This agreement also provides the opportunity to pursue new initiatives.”

Areas of cooperation under the agreement may include tokamaks (a doughnut-shaped magnetic confinement design), alternatives to tokamaks, magnetic fusion energy technology, plasma theory and applied plasma physics. Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of Energy plans to contribute $1.3 million over two years to develop hardware for use at the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion device in the United Kingdom. The hardware will enable JET to enhance its performance and explore new areas of fusion science. Ongoing collaborations include research to improve understanding of the physics of newer, innovative approaches to fusion.

The original umbrella fusion agreement was signed in 1986. The agreement provides for cooperation between the European Atomic Energy Community represented by the Commission of the European Communities and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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