Ontario Power Generation/ Laurentis Energy Partners

Toronto,  ON 
Canada
http://www.opg.com

• Booth: 2048

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is proud to be one of the largest, most diverse clean power producers in North America. Amongst our many sources of power generation, OPG operates 10 nuclear power reactors across two stations located at Pickering and Darlington. OPG also boasts the world's largest civilian tritium recovery facility, supporting the safe operation of Ontario’s CANDU fleet. For over 50 years OPG has been a reliable source of isotopes including tritium, cobalt-60, and heavy water. OPG’s nuclear assets are an ideal source of irradiation services for isotope production and partnerships are actively being developed for the production of additional isotopes such as Molybdenum-99. 

Laurentis Energy Partners is an innovator and leader in the clean-energy industry, offering expertise in nuclear and hydro generation, inspections and engineering, nuclear transportation and materials recycling, small modular reactor licencing and development, and the production of medical isotopes. Based in Canada and with operations in Europe, Laurentis serves customers in energy markets and in health care around the world.

As the medical and industrial applications for isotopes grow every day, OPG and Laurentis are uniquely positioned with decades of strong nuclear and isotope expertise, and multiple nuclear generating assets that can provide irradiation services. 

 Press Releases

• Laurentis Energy Partners to produce Y-90 isotopes for life-saving cancer treatments globally (Mar 18, 2024)

  TORONTO, ON – Cancer patients in Canada and around the world will receive treatment using Yttrium-90 (Y-90) isotopes produced by Laurentis Energy Partners (Laurentis) and harvested from Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. 

  Ontario’s Minister of Health and Deputy Premier, Sylvia Jones and Minister of Energy, Todd Smith joined Laurentis and industry partners at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to announce Laurentis will become one of very few global suppliers of Y-90, a potentially life-saving isotope instrumental in treating several diseases, primarily liver cancer.  

  Laurentis will use its proprietary Target Delivery System (TDS), developed in partnership with BWXT Medical, to produce Y-90.  

  Pending regulatory approvals, Laurentis expects to begin producing Y-90 by mid-2025, further strengthening Ontario’s position as a world leader in the production of medical isotopes.  

  Key facts  

  • Because of the unique design of Darlington’s CANDU reactors, Y-90 can be produced without interrupting the generation of clean energy.  
  • Once irradiated, Y-90 will be sent to BWXT Medical’s facility in Kanata to be packaged and distributed to more than 30 countries globally for use in minimally-invasive, targeted radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumours.    
  • Y-90 is the first of Laurentis’s isotopes to be used in therapeutic treatment. Other nuclear isotopes are used in critical applications such as medical diagnostics and food sterilization. 
  • According to the Canadian Liver Foundation, liver cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide.  

  Quotes  

  “Under the leadership of Premier Ford, Ontario has become a hub for healthcare research and innovation,” said Hon. Sylvia Jones, Deputy Ontario Premier and Minister of Health. “The production of medical isotopes in Ontario is another way our government is leveraging innovation to connect more people to the life-changing care they need, when they need it.”

  “Once again, we are demonstrating to the world the indispensable role of Ontario's world-class nuclear sector,” said Hon. Todd Smith, Ontario Minister of Energy. “Not only does nuclear generate clean, reliable baseload electricity to power up our province but it also enables the production of life-saving medical isotopes, which is helping to treat cancers and other diseases.”  

  “Laurentis will provide a critical supply of made-in-Ontario Y-90 to the world,” said Jason Van Wart, President and CEO of Laurentis. “As a company with experience, expertise and cutting-edge technology at our fingertips, we have a responsibility to advance the production of life-saving isotopes for the global medical community.”    

  About Laurentis Energy Partners 

  Laurentis, a subsidiary of OPG, is an innovator and leader in the clean-energy industry, leveraging its access to decades of nuclear energy knowledge and experience to deliver lifesaving radio pharmaceuticals and isotopes, complete refurbishment activities at CANDU stations around the world, execute Small Modular Reactor (SMR) engineering and services, provide inspections with industry leading technologies and assist the global nuclear industry in nuclear waste and decommissioning. Laurentis has offices in the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton and Bruce County in Ontario, Saint John in New Brunswick, Regina in Saskatchewan, and Bucharest and Cernavoda in Romania.  

  Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn or visit www.laurentisenergy.com.  

• OPG enters partnership to supply important medical isotope faced with global shortage (Apr 24, 2024)

  At a glance

  • OPG’s nuclear power reactors are a critical source of important and life-saving medical isotopes for the world.
  • The company is now launching a pilot project to supply another isotope, Carbon-14, which is important in drug development.
  • For decades, Russia was the only source of Carbon-14. OPG’s Carbon-14 will offer the life science industry an alternative supply to meet shortages caused by the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

  For more than half a century, OPG’s CANDU nuclear power reactors have provided Ontario with low-carbon, reliable, and safe electricity to power our homes, businesses, and lives.

  

  At the same time, these workhorses have also supplied important medical isotopes to ensure millions in Canada and around the world can enjoy a healthier and safer quality of life.

  From sterilizing medical equipment and food to diagnosing cancer and heart disease, Ontario’s nuclear products continue to benefit society in a myriad of ways.

  And the future looks even brighter as OPG keeps innovating to deliver more important isotopes for the world.

  Today, OPG’s Nuclear Medicine and Isotopes team is working to fill a worldwide supply shortage of the major medical isotope Carbon-14, in partnership with CCNuclear and RC-14.

  Our partnership will support the development of cutting-edge life science research. In the end, this project will reduce waste, help protect the environment, and produce a valuable isotope to help meet global demand.

  Kapil Aggarwal

  Vice-President of Nuclear Sustainability Services at OPG

  This radioactive isotope, which is produced in OPG’s nuclear power reactors during regular operation, is used predominantly as a biotracer to understand chemical and biological system pathways. It plays an important role in the life science industry as it’s used in the development and certification of new drugs, cosmetics, and in agrochemical industries.

  

  Since 2022, the world has been faced with supply shortages of purified Carbon-14 due to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, as the isotope has historically been produced in Russia.

  OPG is now working to fill that shortage, in partnership with nuclear service provider, CCNuclear, and its isotope producer subsidiary, RC-14. The effort is starting with the launch of a pilot project aimed at repurposing OPG’s reserves of Carbon-14, which is an intermediate-level waste product currently stored at OPG’s Nuclear Sustainability Services’ (NSS) Western facility in Bruce County.

  New innovative systems developed by CCNuclear and RC-14 will help harvest and concentrate OPG’s Carbon-14 to make it available for the life science industry. This will ultimately help fill a major need for the world while benefiting the environment by reducing the amount of Carbon-14 stored at the site.

  “Our partnership will support the development of cutting-edge life science research,” said Kapil Aggarwal, Vice-President of Nuclear Sustainability Services at OPG. “In the end, this project will reduce waste, help protect the environment, and produce a valuable isotope to help meet global demand.”

  

  “This innovative approach for harvesting OPG’s Carbon-14 is set to provide the life science industry with an alternative source of Carbon-14,” stated Stéphane Leduc, CEO of CCNuclear and RC-14. “Following the pilot, this initiative has the potential to secure a long-term, reliable supply for the industry, which could significantly enhance and expedite drug development.”

  Did you know? Carbon-14 is just one of many beneficial isotopes generated by OPG’s nuclear power operations. The company’s reactors are also a critical source of Cobalt-60, Molybdenum-99, and Yttrium-90. These medical isotopes are used to sterilize single-use medical devices, detect illnesses like heart disease, and treat cancer.

  In addition to Carbon-14, OPG and its subsidiary, Laurentis Energy Partners, are giving other nuclear by-products new life, including Tritium and Helium-3. These isotopes are used in emergency lighting, quantum computing, medical research, border security, and in the development of nuclear fusion.

  Learn more about nuclear isotopes.

  Learn more about nuclear service provider CCNuclear.

  Learn more about isotope producer RC-14.