Netherlands Gives Green Light For New Petten Reactor
Written by NucNet
Monday, 23 January 2012
The Dutch government has given the green light for a new research reactor to be built at Petten in the Netherlands, replacing the existing High-Flux Reactor (HFR), which has been in operation since 1961 and is reaching the end of its economic life.
The decision was announced on 20 January 2012 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. The ministry said in a statement that central government and the province of North Holland had each undertaken to commit 40 million euro (EUR) (about 50 million US dollars) to the project.
The ministry said the new reactor, to be called Pallas, could be operational in 2022.
The EUR 80 million from the government and North Holland is for the design, tendering and licensing of the unit.
The cost of the whole project is put at around EUR 500 million, with the remaining capital due to be raised during phase two of the project from private investment. The second phase will begin once the construction licence is granted.
HFR operator the Nuclear Research & Consultancy Group (NRG) said Pallas’s financing costs will ultimately be paid back from future income generated by the sale of medical and industrial isotopes, and for carrying out nuclear technology research.
NRG director Rob Stol said the Netherlands has “an extremely strong position” in the world market for medical isotopes and nuclear technology research, and with Pallas will be able to maintain and expand that position.
Pallas project director Paul de Jong said Friday’s decision means NRG can continue with the next phase of the project. A European tender for the new reactor will start in the next few months.
The HFR has been a vital link in the production chain of radioisotopes for medical purposes. The isotopes are used for medical diagnosis, cancer treatment and pain control. The nuclear facilities at Petten supply 60 percent of European demand for these isotopes and 30 percent of global demand.
HFR was shut down for more than seven months in 2010 for repairs to eroded pipework that forms part of the unit’s primary cooling system.
