Funding Green Light for Pallas Research Nuclear Reactor

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Commission (EC) has approved plans by the Dutch government to spend up to 2 billion euro (US$2.18 billion) on building the new Pallas research reactor in Petten, Netherlands.

The project consists of the construction of a reactor and a nuclear health center. It follows a 2013 Commission decision approving aid to the preparatory phase of the Pallas project. The reactor will replace the current High Flux Reactor (HFR)--a 45-megawatt (MW) reactor--which was commissioned in 1960 and which, in recent times, has been used for fundamental research and the production of medical radioisotopes. Operated by Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) on behalf of the European Union's Joint Research Centre it has supplied about 60% of Europe's and 30% of the world's demand for medical radioactive sources. NRG claimed the decision is a confirmation that the Pallas reactor is of strategic importance for the Netherlands and for Europe, adding: "The security of supply of medical isotopes for nuclear medicine will be strengthened. For patients, it means faster access to innovative (cancer) treatments."

The new reactor, which is a "tank-in-pool" design with an output of around 55 MW, will be commissioned "in the early 2030s". The nuclear health center will process the medical isotopes produced by the reactor into radiochemicals, which will then be further processed into radiopharmaceuticals that can be administered to patients for the diagnosis and treatment of several diseases including cancer. At present, 30,000 patients daily depend on the radioisotopes produced at Petten.

"This 2 billion-euro (US$2.18 billion) measure enables the Netherlands to support a strategic project contributing to the securing of supply of essential medicines and to the development of breakthrough innovation in the field of nuclear technology to the benefit of European citizens," said Margrethe Vestager, the Commission's executive vice president in charge of competition policy. "Our assessment has confirmed that the measures proposed by the Dutch authorities will limit any possible distortions of competition triggered by the public support."

It was welcomed by NRG-Pallas Chief Executive Officer Bertholt Leeftinks: "This is good news, for us, for the Netherlands, but especially for the many patients with life-threatening diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, who depend on medical isotopes. With the arrival of the new Pallas reactor, the production of medical isotopes and the innovation of new applications for the treatment of cancer, among other things, are guaranteed."

Preparatory work for the reactor has been underway over the past year, including the digging and foundation-pouring of the steel-reinforced pool pit, which measures 50 x 50 meters and is 21 meters deep.

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