Institute for Energy

The Institute for Energy (IE) is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre, a Directorate General of the European Commission, based in Petten, the Netherlands.

The Institute employs approximately 210 people and is led by Giovanni de Santi.

Activity

The Institute for Energy supported at EU level decision-makers of various DGs with scientific and technical advice in the areas of energy, environmental protection, safety and sustainability. Within the framework of the EURATOM Treaty, the Netherlands and the former EURATOM Commission in 1961 concluded the Treaty establishing the European research center, which was opened in Petten 1962. It took over the previously entered service in the high-flux reactor for Materials Research, which today is used mainly in the production of medical isotopes.

Until the 1980s, the research center was renamed as the Institute for New Materials.

Today, developed and disseminated the Institute for Energy scientific and technical knowledge on selected security issues in support of the EU strategy for nuclear safety. In the non- nuclear field, it supports the EU's strategy for security of energy supply, particularly in the areas of efficiency, safety, environmental impact and use of hydrogen. As a result of its nuclear activities, the Institute also has nuclear medical expertise. In support of the EU Public Health Programme therefore medical applications of nuclear technology for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes are being developed.

Alleged incident in research reactor

According to the report of the former IE Director Frans Saris it is on 16 November 2001 at the high flux reactor above an officially undisclosed accident (English station blackout = total power failure ) have given, in which stood just ahead of a meltdown. Due to a failure of the external power supply, the pumps were suddenly without electricity, which are used for reactor cooling. After the emergency power supply is failed, and the operators would have been due to insufficient power supply too much trouble, a faucet that serves the passive emergency cooling to open.