Production of BR2 research reactor helps 13 million patients
SCK CEN breaks own production record in 2025
Every year, millions of patients rely on the medical radioisotopes produced by the nuclear research centre SCK CEN in its BR2 research reactor. In 2025, this figure increased to 13 millions. "This marks a new production record in the history of BR2," says Steven Van Dyck, BR2 director at SCK CEN. "And we can still scale up depending on medical needs."
Times change and technologies evolve with them. Some quietly disappear from daily life as they are replaced by new developments, such as what happened to fax machines or slide projectors. In contrast, the BR2 research reactor is a rare example of a technology that has retained its social relevance even decades after its startup. "It's timeless," agrees Steven Van Dyck. The research reactor was originally built to test materials and nuclear fuels. By conducting these experiments, BR2 contributes to guaranteeing the safety of current and future nuclear facilities. It continues to do so but its main job for decades has been the production of medical radioisotopes.
Doctors use medical radioisotopes to detect cancers, heart diseases and other illnesses and, in recent years, even treat cancer. However, hospitals cannot stockpile isotopes due to radioactive decay, which means that after a certain period - called the half-life - only half the radioactivity remains. That half-life can range from several days to hours. "This means that every minute between production and injection in a hospital counts," Steven Van Dyck explains. The demand for radioisotopes is constantly increasing. To ensure continuous provision in the future, the nuclear research centre SCK CEN increased the number of operating days from 160 to 210 per year in 2020. This led to setting a first record during the COVID year: 12 million patients. This was five million more than the previous average. That record did not last long. By 2025, no fewer than 13 million patients were relying on that production for diagnosis or treatment.
Spare capacity
"In contrast to 2020, the new record is not a jump of millions but its importance should not be underestimated. It shows that we can scale up depending on medical needs. We have the capacity to help even more patients each year," clarifies Steven Van Dyck. And those needs are on the horizon, as several radioligand therapies are in the final clinical phase and awaiting approval. Radioligand therapy is currently only used to treat neuroendocrine tumours and metastatic prostate cancer but will be able to be used for other cancers in the near future.
Impact outside the medical sector
Although the focus shifted towards medical applications, BR2 also faithfully continued its original mission. The research reactor is a versatile, flexible facility that can combine multiple tasks at the same time. When the reactor produced medical and industrial radioisotopes, the BR2 team simultaneously irradiated doped silicon and conducted scientific experiments.
For 2025, this amounted to:
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to obtain high-performance semiconductors. These semiconductors are the basic material for the components of high-capacity electronics in systems such as solar and wind energy, hybrid cars, and high-speed trains.
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for extensive testing of new nuclear fuels.
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to test materials, such as vessel steel from existing reactors or nuclear fusion materials.
Radioisotopes in production focus
BR2 typically produces 10 to 15 different radioisotopes per operating cycle. This total production figure involves two radioisotopes that account for most of the production: molybdenum-99 and lutetium-177. Molybdenum-99 is the source of the major diagnostic radioisotope technetium-99m, which is used to detect cancer, heart diseases and other illnesses. Lutetium-177 is a radioisotope used in the fight against prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.
Radioligand therapy: a definition
In radioligand therapy, a carrier molecule delivers a radioisotope directly to the tumour and/or metastases. The cancer cells are then attacked with extreme precision, while the healthy tissue surrounding them is largely avoided. For the patient, this means fewer side effects and a better quality of life.
