11 Oct (NucNet): Germany will remain a key partner for the International Atomic Energy Agency in nuclear science and technology despite the country’s decision to phase out nuclear power, the agency’s director-general Yukiya Amano said during a visit to Berlin. The German government decided in 2011 to phase out nuclear power by 2022. The IAEA said 16 nuclear power plants are at different stages of decommissioning I Germany. The IAEA supports member states by providing advice in decommissioning and storage of radioactive waste, and it will continue to provide peer review services to Germany if requested, Mr Amano told foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Mr Amano said German experts had considerable knowhow in the area of plant decommissioning and share their expertise with colleagues from other countries. During a visit to the Wendelstein 7-X facility at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Mr Amano noted the importance of Germany’s contribution to research and international cooperation in fusion. Wendelstein 7-X is an experimental fusion reactor, completed in October 2015, at which scientists evaluate components that could be used for the construction of a future fusion power plant.
