The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing announced on Apr. 9 a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $263 million to SHINE Chrysalis, LLC, aimed at building a high-volume medical isotope production facility in Janesville, Wisconsin. The planned facility will use fusion and fission technology to produce molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), an essential medical isotope used in diagnostic imaging procedures across the United States.
The initiative is significant because it seeks to establish the only domestic commercial supply of Mo-99, reducing reliance on foreign sources that currently have limited capacity to meet demand. Mo-99’s decay product, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), is used in over 40,000 medical procedures daily nationwide.
Gregory A. Beard, Director of the Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), said: “The SHINE Chrysalis project is vital to improving the nuclear supply chain and contributing to a strong next-generation nuclear workforce while onshoring this critical production and improving national security.” Beard also said that using EDF’s loan authority supports President Trump’s policy by ensuring “a reliable and secure domestic supply chain while lowering costs.”
Dr. Matthew Napoli, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), commented: “SHINE is the key to ending reliance on imports of foreign-produced Mo-99 and ensuring U.S. patients have reliable access to American-made medical isotopes. NNSA’s leadership made this concept a reality… The EDF conditional loan will get this project across the finish line, and SHINE’s market entry will be a major win for American nuclear medicine, fusion technology, and nuclear nonproliferation leadership.”
SHINE has developed its technology with support from NNSA over 16 years; national laboratories played an important role in advancing these efforts as well. The construction and operation phases are expected to create hundreds of jobs.
While this announcement marks DOE’s intent to finance the project through EDF, both DOE and SHINE must still meet certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before finalizing any funding agreements.
In related developments supporting energy innovation or infrastructure: On July 21, 2022,the Department announced $225 million for implementing new building energy codes under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; Secretary Jennifer Granholm encouraged international collaboration toward clean energy transitions; national laboratory leaders testified about their roles in cleanup missions; an innovative passive process was applied at Savannah River Site for groundwater remediation; $96 million was offered for clean vehicle technologies; and 146 programs were launched under President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative targeting investments toward disadvantaged communities.
