Japan's Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation and AECOM of the USA have agreed to collaborate in providing decommissioning services to nuclear power plants in Japan.

The signing of the collaboration agreement. From left to right, Dan Brouillette, deputy secretary of energy of the US Department of Energy; Mark Whitney, executive vice president and general manager of AECOM; Goro Yanase, chief nuclear officer at Toshiba ESS; and Taizo Takahashi, commissione of Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (Image: Toshiba ESS)

The two companies have already been working together since 2014 to provide decommissioning services in Japan.

Through an agreement signed today, Toshiba ESS and AECOM will collaborate in "setting up their organisations and promoting combined and joint services to Japanese utility owners in a prompt manner".

Toshiba ESS has played a key role in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Japan and has extensive technologies and a track record in construction for domestic nuclear power plants.

Los Angeles-based AECOM - a fully integrated global infrastructure firm - provides services for the decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear power plants and reactor units, from project planning through to waste disposal and cleanup. It has been involved in many nuclear decommissioning projects around the world.

Yanase Goro, chief nuclear officer at Toshiba ESS, noted that there are 24 commercial reactors in Japan that are to be decommissioned or are under consideration for decommissioning.

AECOM Chairman and CEO Michael Burke said, "We believe this alliance has the right experience, capabilities, skill mix and resources to meet the needs of this nuclear cleanup market," adding that the company had completed decommissioning work for the US Department of Energy and the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, as well as for commercial clients around the world.