December 7, 2022 – Framatome signed two contracts with NRG to supply enriched uranium targets and fuel elements for the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in the Netherlands. The HFR research reactor produces more than 60% of Europe’s medical isotopes, primarily for the use in diagnostic nuclear imaging scans.
“We are pleased to continue our long partnership with NRG and to contribute to the accessibility of critical medical radioisotopes worldwide,” said François Gauché, director of Framatome Healthcare and vice president of CERCA of the Fuel Business Unit at Framatome. “With more than 40 million nuclear medicine procedures performed worldwide each year, we are proud to be a key supplier of fuel for research reactors to help meet this critical demand.”
These new contracts call for a multi-year supply of fuel elements for the HFR and of uranium targets to produce the radioisotope Mo-99 among others. The fuel will come from the Framatome CERCA fuel manufacturing facility in Romans, France. For more than 60 years CERCA has been producing nuclear fuel and uranium targets for research reactors.
NRG has been a Framatome customer for more than two decades and this strong partnership was key in finalizing these agreements. Framatome is committed to support NRG in the continuous safe and efficient operation of the HFR reactor for the benefits of the scientific and nuclear medicine communities.
The High Flux Reactor (HFR) in the Netherlands