Billion-dollar nuclear reactor project in Mol is at a standstill: “As long as the government makes a decision before the summer, there is no problem” | News

Construction of the Belgian research reactor MYRRHA, which is powered by a particle accelerator, has come to a standstill. The editors learned this from a good source and it was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Federal Minister of Energy Mathieu Bihet (MR) and by MYRRHA ivzw, the supervisor of the project and future operator. Construction on the SCK CEN site in Mol only started two years ago, in June 2024.

The project is currently in the first of three major phases, called MINERVA. That phase includes the construction of five buildings spread over an area of ​​30,000 square meters. Two of these buildings have already been completed, three are yet to follow, including that of the essential particle accelerator. The construction of the latter building has now been paused.

According to MYRRHA ivzw, the postponement is due to a reevaluation of the Belgian nuclear strategy by the federal government. Pending a decision on this, among other things, the contract for the construction of the particle accelerator building was not signed on time, according to the project supervisor. As a result, its construction cannot continue at the moment.

MYRRHA ivzw reassures that this will have no impact on the planning for the time being. “As long as the government makes a decision before the summer, there is no problem,” it said. The spokesperson for energy minister Bihet (MR) does not want to comment on a precise timing.

According to the minister’s spokesperson, the construction contract was indeed postponed due to “an evaluation of subsidies and grants to public institutions in the nuclear sector”. This would not be limited to just the MYRRHA project, but would be part of a broad analysis of “strategic priorities, financial needs and budgetary needs”. However, the spokesperson emphasizes that there is no question of a cancellation of MYRRHA: “We do not doubt the potential of the project, which is recognized at Belgian and international level.”

MYRRHA, or Multi-purpose Hybrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications, will become the world’s first nuclear reactor powered by a particle accelerator. The aim is not to produce electricity, but to conduct research into various radiological concepts and applications. For example, it will be studied how radioactive waste can be made less harmful, so that the government does not have to store and manage it for as long.

Medical radioisotopes will also be produced to fight cancer more effectively and thus affect less healthy tissue. Because the design of the reactor is closer to nuclear fusion than to classical nuclear reactors, which work via nuclear fission, researchers can also learn a lot about this future form of energy.

The project is gigantic in scale, with a budget of at least 1.6 billion euros. At the start of construction, the time to complete all phases of the plan was estimated at 14 years. The reactor would therefore be fully operational in 2038. The first MINERVA project phase has been delayed for three years since its approval by the federal government in 2018 due to the corona crisis.