About the GIF

The thirteen members of the GIF (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Euratom, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are working together as the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) to lay the groundwork for the fourth generation of nuclear energy systems — Generation IV.

From the beginning, GIF members sought to have the most flexible working arrangements to define Generation IV systems and their R&D. As with many other large-scale R&D initiatives, the GIF adopted a roadmapping approach to setting goals for Generation IV nuclear energy systems. The result was the Technology Roadmap for Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems, which selected the six most promising systems and identified the research and development needed to develop them.

GIF operations are overseen by a Policy Group, supported by an Experts Group. The Policy Group acts as a decision-making body for high-level initiatives and issues, while the Experts Group oversees the various cross-cutting and methodology collaborations. Both groups include representatives from all members.

The GIF has no permanent facilities, budget or staff; members contribute staff time and the use of facilities as needed. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency serves as a Technical Secretariat to the GIF.

Watch an Introduction to Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems and the International Forum (requires Adobe Flash Player, or download in pdf format, 1.2 mb)

Download an Overview of the GIF (pdf, 161 kb)

"A New Generation of Nuclear to Lead the Way" - article by Jacques Bouchard, Chair, and Ralph Bennett, Technical Director,
Generation IV International Forum, published in Energy Focus Spring 2009
Download here (3 Mb)

2012 Annual Report

The second Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Symposium took place in San Diego, California, USA, on 14-15 November 2012 in conjunction with the Winter Meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). These proceedings present the latest developments in the GIF programme, and as such represent the GIF Annual Report for 2012. They contain the full papers presented during the first day's open sessions as well as updates on developments related to the six GIF systems, the work performed by the horizontal working groups and the "Safety Design Criteria" task force, and the strategic planning activities of the GIF. The symposium was preceded by the ANS President's Special Session which marked the ten-year anniversary of the GIF Technology Roadmap. Former Chairs William Magwood and Jacques Bouchard were honoured during this special session, in the presence of the current GIF Chair Yutaka Sagayama and GIF Vice-Chair Christophe Béhar. A summary of their speeches is reprinted herein, courtesy of the ANS.

Download the GIF 2012 Annual Report (pdf, 4.2 mb)

2011 Annual Report

This fifth edition of the GIF Annual Report highlights the main achievements of the Forum in 2011, and in particular, the progress made in the collaborative R&D activities of the ten existing project arrangements. In July 2011, all 13‑members signed the extension of the GIF Charter, thus enabling the Forum to continue collaborating on the development of the six Generation IV nuclear energy systems under the organisational framework provided by the Charter and the intergovernmental Framework Agreement. Taking into account lessons learnt from the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Forum is developing safety design criteria in support of future licensing activities. In 2011, this mainly focused on the sodium-cooled fast reactor. Another highlight of 2011 was the Russian signature of the system arrangement for the supercritical-water-cooled reactor system, and the memorandum of understanding for the lead-cooled fast reactor.

Download the GIF 2011 Annual Report (pdf, 3.2 mb)

2010 Annual Report

This fourth edition of the GIF Annual Report highlights the main achievements of the Forum in 2010. The ten active members are continuing their efforts to develop the six most promising concepts for the future generation of nuclear power as selected when the Forum was established. Two additional R&D Project Arrangements became effective in 2010, increasing the total to ten. Two Memorandum of Understanding were also signed to facilitate co-operation on the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) and molten salt reactor (MSR) systems.

Download the GIF 2010 Annual Report (pdf, 3 mb)

2009 Annual Report

The third edition of the GIF Annual Report highlights the main achievements of the Forum held in 2009. After the signature of the Framework Agreement by the Russian Federation, ten active members are now sharing their efforts in developing the six more promising concepts for the future generation of nuclear power plants as selected at the origin of the Forum. Three more R&D Project Arrangements became effective in 2009, including the first Project Arrangements for Gas-cooled Fast Reactor and Super Critical Water-cooled Reactor. The GIF Symposium, held in Paris, France, in September 2009 offered the opportunity to representatives from all GIF entities to present the progress and main achievements of the different groups during the past ten years, as well as to present their priorities for the next five years to both the GIF community and other stakeholders.

Download the GIF 2009 Annual Report (pdf, 2.7 mb)

2009 GIF Symposium (Proceedings - ISBN 978-92-64-99115-6)

• Individual papers
• Full text (pdf, 4.3 Mb)
  

2009 R&D Outlook

This Generation IV R&D Outlook provides a view of what the GIF members hope to achieve collectively in the next five years.
GIF_R&D_Outlook_for_Generation_IV_Nuclear_Energy_Systems (pdf, 730 kb)

2008 Annual Report

This 2008 Annual Report is the second annual report issued by GIF. It provides an update on the GIF organization, membership, and participation in R&D projects for each Generation IV system. It summarizes the milestones for development of each system and progress of the R&D toward their accomplishment. Finally, it includes a brief description of the cooperation between GIF and other international endeavors for the development of nuclear energy.

Download the GIF 2008 Annual Report (pdf, 2.3 mb)

2007 Annual Report

This annual report is the first to be issued by the GIF. It summarizes the GIF goals and accomplishments throughout 2007, describes its membership and organization, and provides an overview of its cooperation with other international endeavors for the development of nuclear energy. Future editions will focus on technical progress.

Download the GIF 2007 Annual Report (pdf, 3.3 mb)

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