The National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded NorthStar Medical Technologies a pair of cooperative agreements worth $37 million combined to help the company build reactor and electron beam accelerator systems for molybdenum-99 production.
NorthStar agreed to provide matching funds that will support technologies needed for the domestic supply of Mo-99, which hospitals nationwide use to perform diagnostic imaging procedures, the Department of Energy said Friday.
The Wisconsin-based radiopharmaceutical company will use $16.3 million in federal funds for its neutron capture technology project and the remaining $20.7 million for its accelerator development efforts.
“By combining NNSA’s expertise in nuclear nonproliferation with innovative U.S. manufacturing, Americans will benefit from the health applications of radioisotopes while keeping nuclear risks low and setting a global example,” said Jill Hruby, administrator of NNSA and undersecretary for nuclear security at DOE.
NNSA partners with U.S. companies through the agency’s Mo-99 Program to promote the production of the critical isotope for medical applications without the use of highly enriched uranium, a key ingredient in manufacturing nuclear weapons.