Secretary Chu to Travel to Russia Next Week

Secretary of Energy to focus on U.S.-Russian cooperation on civil nuclear, non-proliferation, clean energy technology, and energy efficiency

WASHINGTON - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will travel to Russia from June 6-11 where he will highlight the tremendous potential for mutually beneficial cooperation and shared economic opportunities with Russia in the areas of innovative clean energy technology, safe and reliable civilian nuclear power, best practices in energy efficiency, and nuclear non-proliferation. The visit will promote continued collaboration between U.S. and Russian scientists, technical experts, and energy sector businesses. It will also pave the way for U.S. investment and clean technology exports to Russia.

"From clean energy to nuclear security, the United States and Russia have a growing number of opportunities for partnerships that can benefit both countries and the world," said Secretary Chu. "I'm looking forward to a constructive and productive dialogue on ways we can seize these opportunities and work closely together to achieve our shared goals."

The Secretary's unique itinerary will include visits to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the closed city of Sarov. Secretary Chu will visit Sarov's All-Russian Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF), considered the "Los Alamos" of Russia, where he will tour the facilities, meet with VNIIEF's scientific community, and congratulate VNIIEF on the 65th anniversary of the institute.

The Secretary will depart the U.S. on Sunday, June 5, and arrive in St. Petersburg on Monday, June 6. Upon his arrival, he will visit the Optogan LED Factory, a unique Russian-owned facility that produces innovative LED lighting. He will tour the St. Petersburg Seaport to review radiation detection systems installed in cooperation with the National Nuclear Security Administration's "Second Line of Defense" program. The Secretary will address Russia's next generation of engineers and scientists at the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute, one of Russia's leading technical universities. He will also meet with St. Petersburg government officials to discuss cooperation on an energy efficiency pilot project for municipal buildings.

The Secretary then travels to Moscow on Tuesday, June 7, where he will chair the U.S.-Russia Presidential Bilateral Commission's Energy Working Group. Joint activities to be addressed at that meeting include a smart grid MOU between the cities and utilities of San Diego in the U.S. and Belgorod, Russia. Presidents Obama and President Medvedev highlighted this unique City-to-City smart grid project in Deauville, France on May 26. The Secretary will also attend Atomexpo 2011, an international forum on civilian nuclear power development. Secretary Chu will address a special plenary session along with Sergei Kiriyenko, Director General of the Russian State Corporation for Atomic Energy, and Bernard Bigot, Chairman of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission.

Other activities in Moscow include a meeting with Rusnano officials to discuss Russian innovation in nanotechnology, a meeting with the Russian Federal Power Grid Company to discuss power grid modernization and energy efficiency, a roundtable discussion with experts on climate change issues, a meeting with the Energy Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce, a visit to the Kurchatov Institute, and meetings with renowned Russian scientists.