The 48th Annual Meeting on Nuclear Technology (AMNT) took place in Berlin from May 16 to 17 , 2017 . During the opening ceremony of this annual event, Dr. Ralf Güldner, President of the German Nuclear Forum (DAtF), noted, among other things, that there is a risk of losing expertise in the field of nuclear technology at the national level. Internationally, however, there remains a consistently high demand for German safety expertise. It is therefore important to preserve and utilize existing expertise for the long term. A new center of excellence for nuclear safety could offer a solution here.

Following the plenary session, numerous technical presentations were given on topics related to research, development, and application of nuclear energy. The Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM) at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) also contributed to this discussion: In presentations by Dr. André Seeliger (HSZG/IPM) and Dr. Ulrich Harm (TUD), the current status of the project “Local Effects in the DWR Core Resulting from Zinc Borate Deposits Following KMV” was presented and discussed before an audience of experts. This nuclear safety research project is now one of many that have been and continue to be carried out through the long-standing collaboration between the IPM, TU Dresden (TUD), and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).

The joint booth of the Nuclear Technology Competence Network, featuring the participation of the Competence Center for Nuclear Technology East (KompOst), which was presented for the first time at the AMNT, was also very well received. It demonstrated that the institute has long been pursuing a path of intergenerational knowledge transfer and innovation promotion in the field of nuclear technology, even though nuclear energy itself will only continue to contribute to national electricity generation until 2022. As an interdisciplinary institute, the IPM has long recognized the challenges posed by the resulting energy transition and has developed new areas of activity accordingly. At the same time, its longstanding efforts to preserve, apply, and impart expertise in nuclear technology continue unabated.

Further Information

Website of the Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology (AMNT):
http://www.nucleartech-meeting.com

Opening Address at AMNT 2017 by Dr. Ralf Güldner, President of the DAtF: http://www.kernenergie.de/kernenergie-wAssets/docs/reden/17-05-15-Rede-Dr-Gueldner-AMNT-2017.pdf

Information on the Eastern Competence Center for Nuclear Technology (KompOst): https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pNid=1712

The research conducted as part of the project “Local Effects in the DWR Core Resulting from Zinc Borate Deposits Following a Core Meltdown” is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy under grant numbers 150 1491 and 150 1496.