BARCELONA, Spain – EANM Booth #63 – Oct. 12, 2022 – SHINE Technologies and Von Gahlen International today announced that SHINE’s supercell has passed factory acceptance testing. Completion of that testing means the supercell, a bank of 10 hot cells, is now being prepared for final shipment to The Chrysalis, SHINE’s large-scale medical isotope production facility in Janesville, Wisconsin.
The supercell will house key processes of medical isotope production, including the extraction, purification and packaging of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The medical isotope is relied on for more than 40 million patient procedures per year globally, and the supercell will play a vital role in SHINE’s ability to produce up to 20 million doses of Mo-99 each year. Von Gahlen was awarded the contract for the supercell based on its expertise in manufacturing critical solutions for nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy, commitment to the SHINE project, and its alignment with SHINE’s core values.
“We’re thankful to have been chosen to partner on this project and cherished the challenge of producing something so unique,” said Jaap Duiker, Managing Director from Von Gahlen. “To know that this work could help up to 20 million patients potentially facing cancer or heart disease makes this project particularly special. We look forward to continuing to work with SHINE and share in their vision for a safer, healthier, and cleaner world.”
Installation of the supercell is also critical to SHINE achieving substantial completion of construction, a key milestone on the way to receiving an operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. SHINE anticipates receipt of that operating license in 2023.
“After seeing the supercell progress during recent trips to Europe, I am excited that it has passed testing and is on its way to Wisconsin. This marks another big step forward for the world’s first fusion facility dedicated solely to producing medical isotopes, and toward much-improved patient care in the United States and around the world,” said Greg Piefer, SHINE founder and CEO. “I’ve been very impressed with Von Gahlen’s ability to execute this complex, first-of-a-kind project, and am grateful for our continuing partnership. They’ve set a new standard for excellence in hot cell construction, and we’re excited to put this system to work in the Chrysalis where it will produce up to a billion doses of medicine over its lifetime.”
SHINE also intends to utilize learning and expertise gained from building the medical isotope facility in Wisconsin to expedite construction of a sister facility in Veendam, the Netherlands.
“With this milestone, we are more confident about a timely completion of SHINE Europe’s production facility in Veendam, the Netherlands,” said Harrie Buurlage, general manager of SHINE Europe. “The sooner our facility in Veendam is ready, the sooner we can help millions of patients in Europe and the rest of the world.”
Based in Janesville, Wisconsin, SHINE deploys its safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly fusion technology in a stepwise approach. Its systems are used to inspect industrial components in aerospace, defense, energy and other sectors. SHINE’s proprietary medical isotope production processes create non-carrier-added lutetium-177 and are expected to create molybdenum-99. In the future, SHINE plans to scale its fusion technology to help solve one of energy’s toughest hurdles by recycling nuclear waste. Through a purpose-driven and phased approach, SHINE aims to generate fusion power to deliver clean, abundant energy that could transform life on Earth. Want to learn more about SHINE? Follow us on social media @shinefusion and sign up for our email newsletter to follow us on our journey!
Media Contact: info@shinefusion.com
Von Gahlen is a state-of-the-art manufacturer of shielding solutions for nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy. Based in the Netherlands, with sales offices also in the United States and Germany, Von Gahlen offers standard or custom-built hot cells along with a wide range of auxiliary equipment for hot labs, as well as radiation-safe radiopharmaceutical packaging, and more. For more information, follow Von Gahlen on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Von Gahlen, Heidi Raayman: h.raayman@vongahlen.com
