Phoenix Nuclear Labs

Phoenix Nuclear Labs

Type	LLC
Industry	Energy, Medical, Defense
Founded	2005
Founder	Greg Piefer[1]
Headquarters	Monona, Wisconsin
Key people	Greg Piefer, Ross Radel[1]
Number of employees	30-40
Website	www.phoenixnuclearlabs.com

Phoenix Nuclear Labs (PNL), located in Monona, Wisconsin, is a company specializing in neutron generator technology. Founded in 2005, the company develops nuclear and particle accelerator technologies for application in medicine, defense and energy. PNL has held contracts with the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Air Force. PNL developed a proprietary gas target neutron generator technology and has designed and built a number of particle accelerator-related technologies.

Corporate history

Phoenix Nuclear Labs was founded in 2005 by Dr. Gregory Piefer after he completed his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.^[2] In July 2011, Dr. Ross Radel, who joined PNL in 2010, became President of PNL.^[1] Retired Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt is on the company's Scientific Advisory Board.^[1]

In February 2014, PNL signed its first commercial contract. PNL contracted to build a thermal neutron generation system for Ultra Electronics' Nuclear Control Systems, a British company that specializes in defense and security, transport, and energy.^[3][4]

In April 2014, PNL was awarded $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to design a high-current negative hydrogen ion source under the SBIR Phase II project. ^[5][6]

In August 2014, PNL and SHINE Medical Technologies successfully operated the second-generation neutron driver prototype for 24 consecutive hours with a 99% uptime. The test was said to be a key milestone towards the production of medical isotopes, such as molybdenum-99. SHINE plans to start production at a facility in Janesville, WI in 2017.^[7]

In October 2014, PNL announced that it was awarded a $3 million contract by the U.S. Army to develop an advanced neutron radiography imaging system. The second-generation version will be sent to Picatinny Arsenal, a military facility in New Jersey, as an upgraded unit to one that PNL sent there in 2013.^[8]

Products

In October 2012, Phoenix Nuclear Labs received 2 contracts from the U.S. Army. The first contract was a $879,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant that will help Phoenix to construct a high-flux neutron generator for the purpose of sensing improvised explosive devices (IED). The second contract was a $100,000 SBIR Phase I grant, to design a neutron source for White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This source would be used to test the radiation resistance of military equipment and equipment to be exposed to radiation in space as an alternative to current testing methods that use highly enriched uranium.^[9] In May 2012, the company had also raised funds to develop the neutron generator.^[10]

In 2014, PNL also announces successful preliminary test on the detection of 'undetectable explosives', by sensing the explosives materials instead of metal components.^[11]

Medical isotope production

PNL developed a proprietary gas target neutron generator technology and has designed and built a number of particle accelerator-related technologies. It has the technology to produce 3X10¹¹ neutrons per second with the deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction.^[12] This can be sustained for a 24-hour period. Phoenix Nuclear Labs' spin-off company, SHINE Medical Technologies^[13] plans to open a facility for the mass production of Mo-99, an isotope used for medical care.^[14]

Molybdenum decays into technetium-99m, which is used in over 40,000 medical imaging procedures everyday in the US. Over 80% of nuclear medicine procedures rely on molybdenum to detect cancer and diagnose heart disease, among hundreds of other procedures utilizing this isotope.^[15] The U.S. obtains all of its molybdenum (representing about half of global demand) from the aging nuclear reactors outside of the U.S. However, many of these reactors are scheduled to be shut down and they furthermore utilize highly enriched uranium (HEU), which the US considers a nuclear weapons proliferation threat.^[16] To avoid the security concern of HEU, the accelerator-driven, low-enriched uranium (LEU) solution geometry becomes the target for high-efficiency isotope production.^[17] The neutrons generated by the PNL neutron generator drive fission in a subcritical LEU solution. The LEU solution is irradiated for approximately a week, and medical isotopes are then extracted from the solution, purified using established techniques, and packaged for sale. The LEU solution is then recycled, achieving extremely efficient use of uranium and producing much less waste than current molybdenum production methods.

PNL neutron generator has been demonstrated to achieve over 1,000 hours of operation. The process produces medical isotopes that fit seamlessly into existing supply chains while eliminating the use of weapons-grade uranium and reliance on aging nuclear reactors.^[15] For example, the Canadian National Research Universal reactor (NRU) in Chalk River, Ontario currently produces these medical isotopes. In 2006, it produced 2/3 of the worlds technetium-99m.^[18] A 2009 shutdown of the NRU threatened to delay medical tests for cancer patients.^[19] Prior to the 2009 shutdown the NRU produced nearly half of the world's supply of medical isotopes.^[20]

References

• Gallagher, Kathleen (2010-03-28). "Madison company seeks piece of isotope market". Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. 
• "Greg Piefer - 2010's 40 Executives Under 40". In Business Madison. Madison, WI. March 2010. ISSN 0192-7450. 

External links

• Official website