Memorandum of Understanding

Memorandum of Understanding

Among

Professor José Rubens Maiorino,

Professor Francesco Saverio D’Auria,

Professor Piero Ravetto,

Professor Waclaw Gudowski,

Professor Muammer Kaya,

Professor Fernando Roberto de Andrade Lima,

Professor Carlos Alberto Brayner de Oliveira Lira,

Professor Sümer Şahin

Professor Hacı Mehmet Şahin

Professor Abdul Waris

Professor Rubens Souza dos Santos

Professor Alejandro Clausse

Professor Dariush Rezaei Ochbelagh

Professor Paulo Ernesto de Oliveira Lainetti

Professor Claubia Pereira

Professor Claudio Luiz de Oliveira

Professor Ming Ding

Professor Claudio Tenreiro

Professor Sidik Permana

Professor Johannes Henoch Neethling

Professor Mikolaj Oettingen

Professor Pablo Carlos Florido

Professor Héctor Lestani

Professor Edmundo Lopasso

Professor Salah-Eddine Bentridi

Professor Naima AMRANI

Professor Eugenijus Uspuras(in Memory)

Professor Alexander Agung

Professor Vijayan Pallippattu Krishnan

Professor Ghida Al Zohbi

Professor Robert Hargraves

Professor Emilio MINGUEZ

and

Professor Giovanni Laranjo de Stefani

This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sets for the terms and understanding among the Professors José Rubens Maiorino, Francesco Saverio D’Auria, Piero Ravetto, Waclaw Gudowski, Muammer Kaya, Fernando Roberto de Andrade Lima, Carlos Alberto Brayner de Oliveira Lira, Sümer Şahin, Hacı Mehmet Şahin, Rubens Souza dos Santos, Abdul Waris, Alejandro Clausse, Dariush Rezaei Ochbelagh, Paulo Ernesto de Oliveira Lainetti, Claubia Pereira, Claudio Luiz de Oliveira , Ming Ding Claudio Tenreiro, Sidik Permana, Johannes Henoch Neethling, Mikolaj Oettingen, Pablo Carlos Florido, Héctor Arturo Lestani, Edmundo Miguel Lopasso, Salah-Eddine Bentridi , Naima AMRANI , Eugenijus Uspuras( in Memory) , Alexander Agung, Vijayan Pallippattu Krishnan, Ghida Al Zohbi, Robert Hargraves, Emilio MINGUE and Giovanni Laranjo de Stefani to develop efforts together with their institutions, the international academic community, and the nuclear sector interested in the utilization of thorium in Nuclear Reactors and associated Fuel Cycle, to create a future Consortium of Universities, but open to other entities and representatives who share the same vision, to promote the utilization of thorium as nuclear fuel in Nuclear Reactors, hereby named as COAUTHOR (COnsortium of Academics from Universities promoting the use of THORrium).

Background

Nuclear Energy, primarily to produce electricity and other use, and the enveloping Nuclear Technology, as inherited from the XX Century, constitutes a controversial issue for political and economic reasons. On the one hand, the energy source is promoted in several Countries and an unavoidable mean to ensure growth for the human civilization ad suitable living standard with reduced or no impact upon the environment, on the other hand it is abandoned or going to be abandoned in other Countries which did benefit of stable economic growth. Thorium is an emblem for such a situation: huge reserves are available all over the world (primarily India, Turkey, and Brazil, but not only) and its technological worth for exploitation in current generation of thermal fission reactors is demonstrated, on the other hand no industrial use is ongoing or planned for the near future (with an exception constituted by situation in India). Therefore, it is important that the academia provide scientific, technical, economics and environmental impacts information to promote the utilization of thorium in benefit of the society, and to give to the police maker information’s for taking decisions with scientific and technical bases and in a sustainable way.

Purpose

This MoU will have as purpose to create a formal framework for the formalization of COAUTHOR, within two years from the signature of the present MoU and in any case before December 31, 2019. To achieve this purpose the partners, make as commitment, or goals: a) to exchange information, b) involve students and professionals of their institution to be involved with the scope of this MoU, c) to share in relation to Thorium their opinions and the activities performed in their Institutions under their responsibility and control with all partners, d) to contact colleagues from the international or national community to be involved in the future COAUTHOR, e) be ready for searching funding from national or international scientific support foundation or organization, f) to publish one paper per year and in submitting the paper to (at least) one International Conference and (if possible) to one International Journal active in Nuclear Engineering and Technology. The paper can be triggered and proposed by any member to all partner, and it will be desirable if it involves at least more than one of the partners, accordingly the partner specialization, and g) to promote a symposium or workshop at near the end of this MoU in one of the countries of the partners where progress report from each partner will be presented and open to the international community, and the “statute”, members, and scope of the COAUTHOR will be defined.

Reporting

All the partners must make a six-monthly progress report and distributed by all partners by electronic way and registered by a member of the partners, here denominated by “Chairman”, which will be elected one month after the signature of this MoU, by unanimous agreement among the partners, which will be responsible to record all information exchanged among the partners. Also, the chairman will be responsible to take the imitative to promote the final symposium, or workshop to implement the COAUTHOR.

Funding

This MoU is not a commitment of funds (zero budget), however each partner keeps the engagement to promote Thorium as fuel for existing and future Nuclear Reactors and to search for resources, budget and young researchers-students, needed for achieving the purpose of this MoU.

Duration

This MOU is at-will and may be modified by mutual consent from the partners. This MoU shall become effective upon signature by the partners and will remain in effect until modified or terminated by any one of the partners by mutual consent. In the absence of agreement by the partners this MOU shall end on 31/12/2019.

Addendum

The version 1 of this MoU starts on February 23, 2018 with the signature of all partners who agrees with the terms established. Any another academic with interest to join this Mou should sent his intention to participate in it and will be included as Partner by mutual consent of the all partners and if accepted an updated version will be issue by the chairman. By agreement of all partners the first chairman is Professor Jose Rubens Maiorino.

Pisa, February 23, 2018

Amendment

As decided by the participants of the Meeting held during ICENES 2019, in Bali the Duration of this MoU will be extended for more two years, and in absence of agreement by the partners this MoU shall end on 31/12/2021

Bali, October 7, 2019