​Ontario energy minister announces hot cell facility for medical isotopes in Bruce County

Bruce Power and its partners in the production of medical isotopes, have committed to building a hot cell facility in Bruce County, expediting their ability to process short-lived Lutetium-177 to ensure it reaches cancer patients around the world in a timely fashion.

Ontario energy minister Stephen Lecce (above) made the announcement during his visit to the Bruce Power site, Friday, saying the new facility is another step forward in leveraging the province’s expertise and infrastructure as a world medical isotope superpower.

“This year, more than 247,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer, and one of the most consequential tools doctors have available to diagnose and treat this disease, will come from Ontario’s nuclear generating stations – life-saving medical isotopes,” said Lecce.

“As someone who has been impacted by cancer in my family, like so many Canadians, I know that this initiative will save lives and further cement Ontario’s place as a global leader in the production and processing of cancer-fighting medical isotopes.”

Lecce also officially announced the start date of Bruce Power’s Unit 4 Major Component Replacement (MCR) project. The outage will begin Feb. 1, 2025, with Bruce Power and its partners doubling the construction activities on site as the Unit 3 MCR continues, with the peak of the asset management program to invest in Units 5, 7, 8 until their respective MCRs are completed over the next decade.

In terms of number of activities per day, no utility has ever taken on a project of this magnitude on an operating site. In 2025 alone, Bruce Power will invest $3-billion in Ontario through MCR and asset management investments.

As outlined in the province’s recently-released paper, Ontario’s Affordable Energy Future: The Pressing Case for More Power, the government is committed to a pro-growth agenda that includes nuclear refurbishment and new builds.

Bruce Power and Isogen (a joint venture between Kinectrics and Framatome) are committed to expanding their isotopes operation in Bruce County with the plans to install the hot cell either on the Bruce site or at one of Isogen’s local facilities.

Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, minister of rural affairs, also spoke at Friday’s event and applauded the continued investment into the local communities.

“Today’s announcements are great news as Bruce Power innovates and demonstrates that its commitment to Ontario continues to be second to none when it comes to cancer-fighting isotopes and clean, affordable energy,” she said.

“What also impresses me is that communities in Bruce, Grey and Huron counties are proving that rural Ontario has the capacity, the talent and genuine desire to support the development of global-leading technologies as well as the growth of energy production that will position the province to confidently build for future growth and prosperity.”

A hot cell is a shielded facility that protects individuals from radioactive isotopes by providing a safe containment area in which they can control and manipulate the equipment required. This will allow initial processing of Lutetium-177, produced in Bruce Power’s Unit 7 reactor. Once targets are extracted, they are safely packaged, shipped, processed and administered to the patient within two weeks for the product to be viable. Having a local facility will allow for increased amounts of Lutetium-177 and reduce process time overall.

“This commitment to build a hot cell will help to get the vital cancer-fighting medical isotopes to the patients who need them, when they need them,” said John D’Angelo, president of Isogen. “Our partnership continues to innovate to ensure there’s a steady, reliable supply of medical isotopes at a time when demand from the world health-care community is growing.”

The Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) will have an opportunity to build on the existing Gamzook’aamin aakoziwin isotope partnership with Bruce Power to expand to the hot cell, to support localizing isotope processing.

“We’re proud to be part of this unique partnership that is not only helping to fight cancer on a global scale, but is a step forward in economic participation in meaningful projects in our territory that will support us in implementing our vision for our communities,” said chief Greg Nadjiwon, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation.

“We are encouraged by the opportunities we have been developing through our Gamzook’aamin aakoziwin partnership, and excited to explore how we can continue to build our partnership for the benefit of our people and communities, and people around the world,” said chief Conrad Ritchie, Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation.

The new hot cell will play a key role as the partnership explores the possibility of producing other medical isotopes and expands its Isotope Production System (IPS) to other units in the future. Additionally, bringing hot cell capability into the region demonstrates the value of the work of the Southwestern Ontario Isotope Council which has been focused on highlighting the importance of communities’ role in the broader supply chain.

“The exciting part of this is that when we have all of the infrastructure in place with our IPS and the new hot cell fully operational, the sky is the limit on the production and research of new medical isotopes for doctors and patients around the world, allowing a breakthrough in cancer treatment,” said Eric Chassard, Bruce Power’s president and chief executive officer. “This is a true made-in-Ontario and made-in-Canada success story, and Bruce Power, the nuclear industry and our supplier partners can be extremely proud it.”