The Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) is the nuclear service provider in the Netherlands. Operating the only nuclear high flux reactor in the Netherlands, NRG also supplies radio-pharmaceuticals to hospitals and is Europe’s largest provider of this product.
One of the biggest on-going projects of NRG, known as PALLAS, aims at replacing the current high flux reactor with a new one. PALLAS will make the reactor more suitable for medical isotope production and for performing nuclear technological research. The current High Flux Reactor (HFR) has been in service for around 50 years, which means the need for regular maintenance has increased exponentially, resulting in too much downtime that has led to global shortages in medical isotopes. The goal of PALLAS is to meet the rising demand for medical isotopes in the world.
For now, the old reactor remains operational and therefore, the NRG has invested in the robotics project “Remote Handling for ITER,” which encompasses the development of simulation software to ultimately build maintenance robots that could take over the dangerous jobs of humans. With the continuous development in nuclear medicine, NRG and its partners are always in search of new products and new applications. Moreover, NRG is engaged in applied research to facilitate more sustainable nuclear energy.
