Finland invests in nuclear energy research
The high standard of Finnish expertise and research is internationally acknowledged and guarantees the safety, sustainability and competitiveness of nuclear energy use and also promotes business opportunities in the industry. This is concluded in the year 20130 vision outlined in the research strategy for the nuclear energy industry that was submitted at the end of April to Mr. Jan Vapaavuori, the Minister of Economic Affairs.
The strategy includes a number of recommendations for incorporating the focal areas in nuclear energy research into comprehensive national programmes.
The scientific level of nuclear energy research needs to be increased to improve the international competitiveness and visibility of Finland. According to the strategy recommendations, Finland will be an active participant in important international research through extensive and cross-disciplinary national cooperation.
- Being such a small country, Finland has to take advantage of all international contacts to the highest degree possible, reflects TVO's representative in the Committee, R&D Manager Liisa Heikinheimo.
Visions to ensure the quality and quantity of graduate education include a national wide network of doctoral programmes. Funding should be organised on a long-term basis.
As far as research activities are concerned, the recommendations call for investments in the development of innovations.
A proposal included in the strategy is to establish in conjunction with the Ministry of Employment and the Economy an advisory board on the use of nuclear energy and associated research as a permanent panel of experts to support decision-making in national issues related to the nuclear energy industry.
- The aim is to have a shared view within the industry of how expertise is acquired and what the focal areas of new research are to be, Ms. Heikinheimo explains.
The strategy presents four different future visions of the word of nuclear energy use up to the year 2030. All the alternatives specify safety and the overall good of the society as pre-conditions for the use of nuclear energy in Finland.
According to the strategy, the strong areas of competence in Finland include the assessment of the safety of nuclear facilities, and the licensing procedures, research in basic phenomena affecting safety, research related to nuclear waste management, and cross-disciplinary expertise in technoscience, combining new and old technologies.
– From the Finnish viewpoint, strong competence, active participation in international cooperation within the industry, products and services developed in Finland as well as the facilitation of commercialisation through promotion of research innovativeness are important elements of the new strategy. This also enables us to create new international business opportunities based on Finnish expertise, concludes the Chairman of the Committee, Industrial Counsellor Herkko Plit from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
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