Urenco’s Crucial Role in Treating Serious Diseases

When people think of Urenco, they often think of uranium enrichment. However, the company has also been active in the medical field for years. “We are aware of the societal contribution we can make,” says Martijn van Hezel, commercial manager at Urenco Stable Isotopes. “We have been enriching uranium for over 50 years using advanced centrifuge technology. In the early 1990s, we were asked if we could use this technology for other purposes. We started experimenting in our laboratory, and from there, it gradually grew. It wasn’t until we saw significant opportunities in the medical world that it really took off.”

This move turned out to be a success, and within a few years, Urenco became a key player in healthcare. The company develops stable isotopes used in treating serious diseases, such as tumor radiation therapy. “It’s the most important ingredient in such treatments,” Martijn explains. “We are the beginning of the production chain for nuclear medicines. After our process, several more steps are required before the medicine reaches the patient. For example, we make small rods from the element iridium, which we enrich into the isotope Iridium-191 using our centrifuges. After this, we carry out a chemical process to convert the gas into metal powder and then into tiny needles. All our work is with non-radioactive material. Another company then makes the needles radioactive in a research reactor, turning them into a radioisotope, a radiant product.”

The radiant product ends up in hospitals, where it is used in patients’ bodies to perform its function. “The material we enrich holds radiation just long enough to locally treat a tumor,” says Martijn. “Every year, two million people worldwide are treated this way. Serious illnesses can affect any of us, so it’s fantastic to contribute to their treatment.”

Urenco’s enriched isotopes are also used in industrial applications. “For example, in the semiconductor industry,” Martijn says. “We supply products used in chip production. Adding a gas we developed helps chips generate less heat, improving performance. This results in faster smartphones, which everyone wants. We see many opportunities in this market too.”

Urenco’s primary task remains enriching uranium for CO2-free electricity production, with the Stable Isotopes division as a growing second branch. “We have big plans in this area,” says Martijn. “We’re also looking at developing further along the medical product supply chain. We’re currently at the very start of the chain, but there might be significant roles for us further down. We want to make an even greater contribution. There are so many diseases with too few solutions. Many good ideas fail during development. It’s crucial for us to bring more applications and products to market so that even more people can benefit.”