A New Mexico startup has joined the quest to commercialize a technology that can produce the medical isotope molybdenum-99 without using highly enriched uranium.
Five foreign research reactors currently produce 90 percent of the molybdenum-99 used worldwide, according to the World Nuclear Association. All were built in the 1960s, and outages regularly threaten to create shortages of the isotope. As the U.S. seeks to reduce the civilian use of highly enriched uranium, the Department of Energy and nuclear firms in recent years have sought a reliable domestic resource for creating molybdenum-99 free from proliferation concerns.
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have worked on a concept for a reactor purpose-built for producing the isotope using low-enriched uranium since the 1990s; and the lab recently awarded Eden Radioisotopes a license to commercialize the technology. The 18-inch-tall reactor produces less than 2 megawatts of power and allows all fuel elements to be extracted for molybdenum-99 production. The compact design makes it efficient and economical, according to a Sandia press release issued Monday. The company is attempting to raise $75 million in startup capital and hopes to begin commercial operation in four years. It aims to build a production facility in Hobbs, N.M., near Urenco's uranium enrichment plant. Eden's shipments would provide the precursor to technetium-99m, which is used in more than 15 million diagnostic procedures in the U.S. each year.