B.C. low-carbon initiatives getting millions in grants from province

Victoria company Open Ocean Robotics received $1.75 million for its work on solar-powered unmanned vessels, which collect data from the ocean.

Carla Wilson
Mar 28, 2023 5:30 PM

Open Ocean Robotics chief technology officer Dr. Fritz Stahr, left, shows an Unsupervised Surface Vessel to Josie Osborne, minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, at an announcement about support for leading-edge clean energy on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

A five-year-old Victoria company has received $1.75 million from the province to continue developing solar-powered unmanned vessels to collect data from the ocean and instantly send it to its home base on land.

Open Ocean Robotics’ surface vehicles are equipped with sensors, cameras and communication technology. Out on the ocean, these autonomous vehicles can travel for months, withstand stormy conditions and they do not produce greenhouse gases.

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The company is one example of emerging “blue” technology in B.C.

A total of $7 million from the province’s Innovative Clean Energy Fund was announced Tuesday for seven projects.

Julie Angus, chief executive of Open Ocean Robotics, said, “This investment in sustainable ocean technology will help advance the maritime economy and beyond. It will protect oceans, reduce greenhouse gases and increase safety at sea.”

We need to better understand the oceans in order to protect them, Angus said. “We know very little about our oceans and have only touched upon the opportunities in the blue economy.”

The company has a team of 30 and is a global leader in using technology for more sustainable ocean monitoring, she said.

Uses so far include monitoring waters to help protected endangered southern resident killer whales and to combat illegal fishing, Angus said.

Another $2 million went to the South Island Prosperity Partnership’s Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) to work as a catalyst for the blue economy along the coast. This organization is filling a gap in the marine sector by connecting emerging technologies to shipping, shipbuilding, and defence and aerospace industries.

Emilie de Rosenroll, chief executive of COAST, said the organization is bringing stakeholders together to develop competitive advantages.

Josie Osborne, minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, said this work will help the province transition to a low-carbon economy.

Since 2008, the innovative clean energy fund has provided $112 million to support clean-energy projects. “Reducing greenhouse gases and other pollution is critical to meeting our climate goals” within B.C.’s climate action plan, Osborne said.

“The impacts of climate change are all around us and people in B.C. know that delay is not an option.”

Other projects receiving funds:

• Pani Energy of Victoria uses artificial intelligence to optimize water-treatment infrastructure to cut energy use by up to 10 per cent and reduce chemical use by 10 per cent.

• Axine Water of Vancouver develops and sells electrochemistry technology. Its waste-water treatment system features improvements in hardware and software.

• Ecoation Innovation of North Vancouver is aiming to develop and demonstrate technology for greenhouses to reduce pesticide use and increase yield from crops.

• Terramera of Vancouver focuses on creating remote-sensing and data-enabled verification technology to give accurate estimates of soil carbon and a history of how a specific piece of land has been farmed in the past.

‘• Miru Smart Technologies of Vancouver creates electromagnetic windows that tint electronically. This translates to energy savings and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com

Two Victoria companies receive funding for ocean projects

Posted: Mar. 28, 2023 

Open Ocean Robotics has received money for its uncrewed vehicles that can capture information and send it back to researchers instantly.

The provincial government has given funding to two Victoria companies to support creating jobs ocean-based jobs.

Open Ocean Robotics and South Island Prosperity Partnership’s Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) are the two companies receiving money.

“B.C. innovators are building connections, developing technology and fuelling research that will help transition B.C. to a low-carbon economy, including in the ocean-based sector,” said Josie Osborne, minister of energy, mines and low-carbon innovation.

“Support for these leading-edge, pre-commercial projects ensures that British Columbians can continue to benefit from the growth and diversification of our first-class clean-technology sector.”

Open Ocean Robotics is receiving $1.75 million to develop uncrewed surface vehicles that are solar-powered and have sensors, cameras, and communication devices that can capture information and relay it back to researchers instantly.

“Our oceans are inherently extremely difficult to monitor when you think about the challenges of putting a crewed ship out on the water,” Julie Angus, the CEO of Open Ocean Robotics said. “So these autonomous boats can go out there for a fraction of the cost without putting any people at risk, and they’re completely zero emission.”

RELATED: Road to Recovery: How solar-powered robot boats fit into the ocean economy

Angus says one of the benefits is these boats can go out for months at a time and can communicate with researchers no matter where they are in the ocean by satellite, radio, or cellular and they are remote-controlled from Victoria.

COAST is receiving $2 million to work with other companies, researchers, or startups to connect them and help find new opportunities in ocean-related fields and to make ocean sectors more sustainable.

“The oceans are at the front lines of climate change, we’re seeing there’s so much pollution that’s occurring from maritime shipping,” Emilie de Rosenroll, the inaugural chief executive officer of COAST said.

“There’s some very aggressive targets to reduce that, the GHG reduction, so oceans are really at the forefront of a lot of different places where climate change is really, really something that’s very visible.”

These two projects are part of the seven total that the government is funding through its Innovative Clean Energy program, which aims to advance B.C.’s clean energy sector.

Fracking foes call for end to practice in B.C.

Kamloops was among B.C. communities that saw demonstrations on March 27

Kamloops This Week StaffMar 27, 2023 2:02 PM

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In Kamloops, members of Transition Kamloops took park in the protests, which called on Premier David Eby to end fracking, also called hydraulic fracturing, which is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock.Wilderness Committee photo

Commuters using Overlanders Bridge in Kamloops on Monday, March 27, were greeted by opponents of the practice of fracking, who created banners and signs as part of a provincewide initiative that saw similar demonstrations in dozens of cities.

In Kamloops, members of Transition Kamloops took park in the protests, which called on Premier David Eby to end fracking, also called hydraulic fracturing, which is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock. It involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer, to release the gas inside.

Concerns about fracking include the creation of wastewater, the emission of greenhouse gases, the release of toxic air pollutants, the triggering of earthquakes and the generation of noise

Demonstrations were supported by Frack Free BC, a new alliance of organizations and individuals that launched last year at Eby’s cabinet swearing-in ceremony. Frack Free BC is calling on the premier to stop issuing new permits for gas wells, to set a date to phase out existing production and to develop a plan to support workers and communities to transition to a sustainable economy.

‘Very concerned’ Vernon residents hold anti-fracking rally

By Jasmine King Global News
Posted March 28, 2023

Vernon residents hold rally against fracking

Vernon, B.C., residents say that fracked gas is one of B.C.’s fastest-growing climate problems and they want the government to consider greener options.

The signs and speeches of demonstrators Monday afternoon hoped to send a message about fracking and the liquid natural gas industry in the province.

“We’re just trying to make sure that people understand what is going on now and what is being planned for our province for the future,” said protestor Janet Parkins, adding that there is “no good reason for us to continue this industry.”

Those who took part in the rally stood outside Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu’s office and said they had one goal.

“We want a discontinuation of fracking in this province,” Parkins said. “There are many areas in the world, many European countries, many states, even Quebec, who have banned fracking.”

Frack Free BC held rallies in over 40 communities across the province. This comes as the provincial government approved the Cedar LNG project.

“We’re very concerned, said Eli Pivnick, a member of Climate Action Now. “We don’t have much more time. The temperatures are rising fast.”

“Even though we keep having the Canadian government and the B.C. government put out new goals for how much we’re going to reduce greenhouse gases, we never hit the targets. They need much more of a push to do the right thing.”

Protestors say that although the effects aren’t felt as much in the valley, they hit each part of the province differently.

“Indigenous people are suffering from environmental degradation,” Parkins said. “They’re suffering negative health effects. Those of us here are really quite unaware of what’s going on up there. For no valuable purpose, we are ruining their lives, their livelihoods.”

Local groups want to see the government consider more renewable energy options in the near future.

 

Demonstrators hang ‘Frack Free’ banner off Richmond overpass on Monday

Fracking is a practice used in 91 per cent of B.C.'s gas production.

Valerie Leung
Mar 27, 2023



Demonstrators with Frack Free BC in Richmond.

Frack Free BC

Demonstrators hung a banner off the Westminster Highway overpass over Highway 99 on Monday morning to protest fracking.


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Richmond was one of 40 B.C. communities where demonstrators from Frack Free BC, an organization calling for an end to fracking, hung their handmade banners.

Fracking is used in 91 per cent of B.C.’s gas production and is a form of natural gas extraction that requires pumping gallons of pressurized, chemically treated water into shattered rock formations.

The Frack Free BC campaign was launched at Premier David Eby’s cabinet swearing-in ceremony last year.

The organization is calling on Eby to stop issuing new permits for gas wells, to phase out existing production and instead to support transitioning workers and communities to a sustainable economy.

“Pollution from B.C.’s gas industry is poised to explode if the five proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) projects that the province is currently considering on the West Coast are approved, built and supplied with fracked gas,” Frack Free BC said in a media statement.

“This concern was heightened last week when the province approved the controversial Cedar LNG project.”

Fracking and LNG exports are responsible for “19 per cent of the province’s total greenhouse gas emissions,” according to Frack Free BC.

“With B.C. already projected to fall short of its 2030 target (40 per cent decrease from 2007), and communities facing increased health risks from fracking, it is past time for Premier Eby to act.”

Biotransformation technology and its promise to turn plastics biodegradable- 

30 Mar 2023

Devesh KumarCurrently, the world is producing around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year (UNESCO)

The Biotransformation Technology presents a new and innovative strategy for effectively and efficiently processing plastics that evade refusing streams resulting in their biodegradation

Our world has developed a strong reliance on plastic items, resulting in significant negative impacts on the environment, society, economy, and health. Around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said. With utility at such a large scale, alternate techniques have also been discovered as a UK-based startup now claims to develop a technology that can transform the state of plastics.


The Biotransformation Technology presents a new and innovative strategy for effectively and efficiently processing plastics that evade refusing streams resulting in their biodegradation. The term refuses stream refers to the flow of solid waste materials that are generated from various sources.

Imperial College in London, UK, and a Britain-based startup, Polymateria have co-developed the technology. The technology produces plastics that have a predetermined lifespan in which they maintain the appearance and quality of traditional plastics.


However, once this lifespan expires and they are exposed to the surrounding environment, they undergo a self-destructive process and biotransform into wax that is bioavailable. Microorganisms then consume this wax, leading to the conversion of waste into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass.

For plastics to undergo biodegradation, they must be consumed by microorganisms and converted into water, CO2, and biomass. The conditions for this process may vary based on the type of microorganisms involved in the cycle, ensuring a safe return to the environment. Polymateria has shown that our technology works in tropical, arid and temperate conditions, which is where roughly 90% of the world’s population lives.

How long does biotransformation take?

The company claims that the biotransformation process of plastic starts quite quickly in nature. It begins to transform plastic into a wax over a period of 2 to 4 months, which may vary based on the climate. “We have shown the full biodegradation process can take place in under a year," Polymateria’s statement said.

What is the additional cost of using the technology?

According to the company, the increase in cost is relatively small when compared to conventional plastic that does not contain Polymateria’s technology. In comparison, other alternative biodegradable solutions such as PLA, PHA can be several times the price of a regular polymer.

Gamechanger for the food and healthcare industry:

The technology can be used in many industries but will be particularly beneficial for the food and healthcare industry as they generate a significant proportion of plastic waste. Some companies are even using such technologies, but Biotransformation will work as a complete game changer in the efforts.

At a time when the world is producing around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, such technologies can go a long way in providing an environment-friendly alternative to the dangerous plastic. The world is waking up to the problem, and governments, industry, and other stakeholders are starting to act.

APRIL 1 THE FOOL

 

 

UK looks to nuclear to bolster energy independence

30 March 2023

The UK government is committed to a programme of new nuclear projects beyond Sizewell C, giving industry and investors the confidence they need to deliver projects at speed, according to a new policy paper. It describes nuclear as "the critical baseload of the future energy system".

(Image: gov.uk)

Launched by Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, the Powering Up Britain policy paper sets out "ambitious plans to scale up affordable, clean, homegrown power and build thriving green industries in Britain ... boosting the country's energy security and independence and reducing household bills for the long-term and maintaining a world-leading position in achieving net-zero".

The paper lists 12 new measures the government will take to achieve this. The government said it is committed to carbon capture usage and storage, and projects will soon be announced for the rollout of the first carbon capture clusters. The plans also include a GBP160 million (USD197 million) fund that will support the infrastructure for floating offshore wind projects, alongside a more than GBP380 million boost into the rollout of electric vehicle charging points and infrastructure. It also supports the first tranche of new green hydrogen production projects under the GBP240 million Net-Zero Hydrogen Fund as part of development of this new power source.

"This document - Powering Up Britain - is the government's blueprint for the future of energy in this country," Shapps said. "By bringing together our Energy Security Plan, and Net-Zero Growth Plan, it explains how we will diversify, decarbonise and domesticate energy production by investing in renewables and nuclear, to power Britain from Britain."

On nuclear, the government has launched Great British Nuclear (GBN), which will be responsible for driving the delivery of new nuclear projects, with the aim of increasing the share of nuclear in the UK's electricity mix from the current 15% to 25% by 2050. GBN will be based in or around the Greater Manchester area and operate through British Nuclear Fuels Limited. It will initially be led by Simon Bowen as interim Chair and Gwen Parry-Jones as interim CEO.

"The first priority for GBN is to launch a competitive process to select the best small modular reactor (SMR) technologies," the paper said. "This will commence in April with market engagement as the first phase. The second phase – the down-selection process - will be launched in the summer, with an ambition to assess and decide on the leading technologies by Autumn. We will co-fund the selected technologies through their development and will work with successful bidders on ensuring the right financing and site arrangements are in place, in line with our commitment to take two Final Investment Decisions in the next parliament.

"The government has also launched the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund of up to GBP120 million to provide targeted support for new nuclear to address barriers to entry and will announce a shortlist of applications to begin pre-grant award due-diligence soon."

The government noted that nuclear energy has been used "reliably and safely" in the UK for more than 60 years and "we have extensive experience of the full nuclear life cycle, from front-end design through to decommissioning". It added: "We are matching the global competition and scaling-up our nuclear programme by having launched GBN, responsible for driving delivery of new nuclear projects, backed with the funding it needs."

The policy paper says the government wants UK companies to "continue playing a key role in green supply chains, from nuclear to CCUS and electric vehicles. For example, nuclear power station Hinkley Point C has spent over GBP4.1 billion with suppliers in the Southwest to date and EDF anticipate that 64% of the construction value of the project will be spent with UK firms, with over 22,000 people nationwide currently working on the project".

"We're driving forward plans to boost renewables, revive nuclear and build new thriving industries like carbon capture, which will in turn create good jobs across the country, provide new opportunities for British businesses at home and abroad, and maintain our world-leading action to reach net-zero," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: "Great British Nuclear will transform the way nuclear projects are deployed in the UK, enabling us to deliver more capacity more quickly. It will help us become a global leader in large and small scale nuclear, with the SMR selection process offering a real opportunity for home-grown technologies and others to bring jobs, skills and investment to the UK."

He added: "For nuclear to provide a quarter of Britain's electricity means embarking on an ambitious new build programme, including a fleet of new stations, as well as placing nuclear on par with other green technologies to drive crucial investment. More nuclear will cut gas imports, cut carbon and create good jobs for communities all across the country."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Polish-US nuclear cooperation expands to USNC microreactors

31 March 2023

Grupa Azoty Police, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation and the West Pomeranian University of Technology have signed an agreement to build a nuclear energy research facility based on Ultra Safe Nuclear's Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) technology. Meanwhile, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, Westinghouse and Bechtel expect to soon sign a contract for the design of Poland's first large-scale reactor.

The signing of the agreement between Grupa Azoty Police, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) and the West Pomeranian University of Technology (Image: Grupa Azoty)

Polish chemicals producer Grupa Azoty Police, the USA's Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) and the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin agreed on 29 March to develop and construct a research facility based on USNC's MMR at Police, a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwestern Poland. Over the next six months, the parties will prepare a comprehensive research programme and will jointly develop a plan for the construction, operation and maintenance of the MMR.

The first stage of the collaborative project will consist of the construction of a 30 MWt MMR to serve as a training, research and test facility. It will be connected to the existing energy infrastructure of Grupa Azoty Police, providing a unique opportunity to study, test, optimise and integrate the MMR as a zero-carbon generation source into an industrial plant.

The collaboration will ultimately lead to the development of a plan for full-scale use of nuclear energy to power chemical processes and to generate steam and hydrogen at Grupa Azoty Police's plant.

"The Grupa Azoty Group's strategy for 2021-2030, with its flagship Green Azoty project, targets new renewable capacities totalling nearly 380 MW across the group by 2030," noted Tomasz Hinc, CEO and President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty. "In our strategic plan, we have also communicated entry into the segments of wind power and small nuclear sources, including MMRs, which will provide us with additional megawatts of zero-carbon energy.

"The tripartite agreement signed today at the Szczecin Province Office is paving the way for the Grupa Azoty Group to successfully deploy the 4th Generation MMR technology at our sites by the end of the period covered by our current strategy, that is by 2030. Seeking to make the fastest possible transition towards climate neutrality, clean energy and diversified energy sources, we want to agree on the detailed framework of our cooperation within the next six months."

"Deploying our high-temperature nuclear batteries with Grupa Azoty and the West Pomeranian University of Technology opens the path for decarbonisation and the development of modern nuclear infrastructure and workforce in Poland and exemplifies US support of Poland's national energy independence," said USNC CEO and founder Francesco Venneri. "Together with our partner Hyundai Engineering Corporation, we fully support Grupa Azoty's plans to reduce CO2 emissions and we are glad to offer the West Pomeranian University the possibility of research in the area of our high-temperature nuclear batteries."

USNC's MMR is a 15 MW thermal, 5 MW electrical high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, drawing on operational experience from reactors developed by China, Germany, Japan and the USA. It consists of two plants: the nuclear plant that generates heat, and the adjacent power plant that converts heat into electricity or provides process heat for industrial applications. The USNC system is designed to be simple, with minimal operation and maintenance requirements, and no on-site fuel storage, handling or processing. The MMR uses TRISO fuel in prismatic graphite blocks and has a sealed transportable core.

The MMR is at an advanced licensing stage at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's Chalk River Laboratories campus in Ontario. The project is a collaboration between USNC and Ontario Power Generation through the jointly owned Global First Power Limited Partnership.

The project at Police joins the growing list of global training, test, and research MMR projects at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the USA, McMaster University in Canada and Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland.

Plans for large-scale plant progresses

Poland's Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) and the USA's Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel Corporation have held talks about enhancing cooperation in the project for the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

The talks were attended by the acting President of PEJ Łukasz Młynarkiewicz, President of Energy Systems at Westinghouse David Durham, Vice President and CEO of Bechtel Craig Albert and John Howanitz, President of the Nuclear Energy, Safety and Environment segment at Bechtel.

"In the near future, it is planned to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel, which will allow to formalise the selected model of cooperation in the form of a consortium," PEJ said. "Such a model of cooperation, preferred by Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe from the beginning, will be applied already at the stage of the next contract, planned later this year, i.e. the contract for engineering services, covering the first stage of work on the detailed technical design of the power plant in Pomerania.

"Signing the contract with the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium will allow us to use the unique competences and experience gained during the construction of two AP 1000 reactors in the USA, which is now being finalised."

In September 2021, it was announced that six large pressurised water reactors with a combined installed capacity of 6-9 GWe could be built by 2040 as part of Poland's plan to reduce its reliance on coal. According to the adopted schedule, the construction of the first nuclear power plant will start in 2026, with the first reactor, with a capacity of 1-1.6 GWe, being commissioned in 2033. Subsequent units will be implemented every 2-3 years.

In November 2022, the Polish government selected Westinghouse for the country's first nuclear power plant. In February this year, PEJ and Westinghouse signed a contract commencing joint activities that will lead to the preparation of the design of the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

Meanwhile, Poland's ZE PAK, Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power have signed a letter of intent to cooperate on a nuclear power plant project in Patnow, in central Poland, assessing the viability of building South Korean APR1400 reactors on the site.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

New isotope-producing research reactor for Missouri

31 March 2023

The University of Missouri has launched an initiative to build a new, larger research reactor, NextGen MURR. The university's existing MU Research Reactor (MURR) - in operation for more than half a century - is the highest-powered university research reactor in the USA and is currently the country's only producer of certain medical radioisotopes.

MURR's core: MURR is a "tank-in-pool" reactor with its core situated in a 30 foot (9 metre) deep pool of water (Image: University of Missouri)

The university plans to issue a Request for Qualification/Request for Proposal (RFQ/RFP) in April, to solicit interest from qualified parties to provide preliminary designs and industry partnerships. The request also will support preparation of regulatory requirements for potential construction at Discovery Ridge in Columbia, Missouri.

MURR was originally constructed as a 5 MWt reactor, and began operations in 1966. Its power was increased to 10 MWt in 1974, and it now operates six-and-a-half days per week, all year round. The reactor is currently the only producer in the USA of the medical isotopes yttrium-90, used for the treatment of liver cancer; molybdenum-99, for analysis of heart functions; iodine-131, used for treatment of thyroid cancer; and lutetium-177, used for treatment of pancreatic and prostate cancers.

According to the university, more than 1.6 million patients a year are diagnosed or treated using radioisotopes that MURR produces. MURR NextGen will build on the internationally recognised excellence of MURR and expand the university's isotope production capabilities, it said.

"The work that we do at MURR saves and improves thousands of lives each and every day," said Mun Choi, University of Missouri president. "NextGen MURR will produce advanced cancer medicines for the next 75 years and solidify the University of Missouri's position as the most important resource for medical isotopes in the United States."

Molybdenum-99 - Mo-99 - is used in hospitals to generate technetium-99m, a critically important diagnostic imaging radioisotope used in 40,000 patient imaging studies per day in the USA. The USA has in the past been heavily reliant on imported Mo-99, but since 2009 a programme by the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration has been working to create a reliable commercial domestic supply of the isotope made without the use of high-enriched uranium (HEU).

NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, in partnership with MURR, has since 2018 produced non-HEU Mo-99 by irradiating and processing molybdenum-98 targets at MURR. The company is also planning to produce the isotope using electron accelerators to irradiate molybdenum-100 targets at a new facility in Beloit, Wisconsin. These dual production and processing pathways will help ensure a reliable supply of Mo-99, according to information from the company.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Viewpoint: The critical production of cobalt-60 in nuclear reactors

28 March 2023

The production of cobalt-60 is critical to healthcare and, with demand soaring, the challenge is to expand supply, writes Martin Comben from the International Irradiation Association.

There are a number of initiatives to increase cobalt-60 supply (Image: Nordion)

The radioisotope cobalt-60 that is manufactured in some nuclear reactors is used to sterilise approximately 40% of single-use medical devices globally. These devices include items such as syringes, catheters, IV sets, surgical gloves and gauze used in a wide range of health care applications. A patient in surgery or receiving wound care or simply having a blood sample taken, is highly likely to be treated using products that have been sterilised using cobalt-60 in a process known as ‘irradiation’ or ‘radiation processing’.

Other important uses of cobalt-60 include the non-invasive treatment of cancers and brain tumours, polymer processing, food treatment and environmental applications.

The demand for sterilisation and, therefore, cobalt-60 is growing at rates not previously seen, due to an increasing and ageing population, greater access to health care and the development of new devices that require sterilisation. At the typically reported growth rate of 6-8% per year, the demand for sterilisation will double over the next ten years. Some sectors, such as the biopharmaceutical industry that is switching to single-use systems, are experiencing growth at much higher double-digit growth rates, although they represent a small proportion of current sterilisation demand.

In recent years, vaccine supply pressure concentrated the need for sterilisation and, in some cases, created a backlog. At the 20th International Meeting on Radiation Processing, held in November 2022, the increasing gap between global sterilisation capacity and demand was highlighted as a significant concern of the healthcare industry.

Cobalt-60 is produced in a small number of reactors located in Argentina, Canada, China, India and Russia.  This cobalt-60 is manufactured into radiation sources by a few specialist manufacturers that serve the radiation processing (sterilisation) industry. Most cobalt-60 produced in China and India and some from Argentina is used to supply their local market only. Therefore most of the rest of the world’s cobalt-60 is supplied from Canada and Russia and almost all of this material is contracted to one Canadian source manufacturer.

Comben is general manager, Gamma Irradiation, at the International Irradiation Association (Image: Martin Comben)

At a time of increasing sterilisation demand, there have been a few disruptions to cobalt-60 production. This includes a period of reduced supply from one Russian reactor and the temporary shutdown for refurbishment of some existing cobalt-60 production reactors in Canada and Argentina. Reactor refurbishment is critical to extending the life of reactors and these initiatives will enable existing reactors to continue cobalt-60 production for a further 25-30 years.

Some cobalt-60 production reactors have permanently closed in recent years. However, various initiatives have resulted in the cobalt-60 volume being replaced or exceeded by production in new or refurbished reactors. Examples of this include the replacement of Russian cobalt-60 production at the the reactors of the Leningrad nuclear power plant, which are closing between 2018 and 2027, with production at new reactors at Kursk and Smolensk. Also, in Canada, the Pickering reactors operated by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) that have produced cobalt-60 since the 1970s, have been scheduled to shut down in 2024. However, these reactors are now being considered for life extension to 2025 and potential refurbishment. At the same time, the Darlington reactors, also operated by OPG, are being refurbished and converted for cobalt-60 production.

Currently, almost all of the world’s cobalt-60 is produced in CANDU pressurised heavy water reactors and RBMK light water graphite-moderated reactors, of which there is a limited number. The greatest opportunity to significantly increase the availability of cobalt-60 is therefore to develop production into new reactor types.

There are approximately 440 commercial reactors in operation of which more than 300 are pressurised water reactors (PWRs). This has made PWRs the reactor platform of focus for future cobalt-60 production. In February 2020, Nordion, the world's largest manufacturer of cobalt-60 radiation sources used for sterilisation, announced that it was partnering with Westinghouse to develop large-scale production of cobalt-60 in PWRs and at the IMRP20 meeting in November 2022, Westinghouse updated the radiation processing industry on the progress and timeline of this important initiative.

Production of cobalt-60 in PWRs would be highly scalable with the capacity to at least double existing worldwide production volumes from PWRs in the USA alone.

Other initiatives include the announcement in December 2021 that Framatome and Exelon Generation will cooperate to understand and develop solutions to produce cobalt-60 in PWRs operated by Exelon Generation.  In June 2020, Nuclearelectrica Romania announced that its 2020-2025 strategic investment plan includes the study of cobalt-60 production at its Cernavoda nuclear power plant with design and implementation targeted to be complete by 2027.

The healthcare industry has relied on cobalt-60 since the 1960s when demand for sterilisation started to grow.  The technology is now applied globally by an international network of irradiation facilities backed up by a robust regulatory infrastructure. Whilst alternatives to cobalt-60 technology are available for sterilisation, these alternatives do not have the capacity to meet existing demand or the infrastructure to enable rapid growth to meet future demand.

The production of cobalt-60 in nuclear reactors remains critical to healthcare and steps are under way to increase production. Cobalt-60 supply volumes have started to increase but not at the rate of increasing demand. The International Irradiation Association, which represents the radiation processing industry, supports all initiatives that will help to meet the demand for sterilisation of health care products and encourages reactor operators to engage with industry on cobalt-60 production.

In addition to the provision of clean energy, the production of isotopes in support of health care remains a highly positive contribution of the nuclear industry to societal wellbeing.