Hitachi and GE have joined forces with two UK universities to support their nuclear research.

It has signed an agreement with Imperial College London and Bangor University to provide industry advice to the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Research Hub and Network in Wales.

The hub was formed in June this year with the aim of enabling the academic and industrial communities to deepen and enhance their understanding of BWR technology and participate in its research and development.

The Hitachi-GE joint venture will provide technical expertise and support including a part-time deployment of a researcher to Bangor and building on the existing programme of Japanese internships for UK students.

Hidetoshi Takehara, President and Representative Director of Hitachi-GE said: “This is about helping create a deeper and broader pool of BWR expertise here in Wales and across the UK, supporting the engineers and industry of the future. This hub provides focus and co-ordination to BWR research, ensuring that Wales and the UK develop real expertise in BWR technology for now and for the future.”

Nuclear energy will be part of the discussions at the Energy Live 2016 conferencein London on Thursday. Join in the debate using #EL2016