Radioisotopes - A unique business case enabled by NEXT
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Radioisotopes are a fast-growing, high-value global commodity—and NEXT can produce them at unmatched scale. This transforms a traditionally cost-intensive fusion validation facility into a commercial engine: while partners test and qualify technologies in a steady-state DT environment, NEXT simultaneously generates medical, industrial, and research isotopes for a multi-billion-euro market. The result is a self-sustaining platform that accelerates fusion development while creating tangible economic value today.
The need of radioisotopes
A rapidly expanding market with continuously evolving applications
Commercially relevant radioisotopes are not naturally available in usable quantities—they must be produced through nuclear reactions. Their emissions enable unique applications: imaging internal structures, tracing biological or industrial processes, sterilizing materials, and delivering highly targeted radiation therapy. Because of these diverse physical and chemical properties, radioisotopes are indispensable in both medical and industrial applications.
Medicine & diagnostics — Radioisotopes are essential in nuclear medicine, enabling PET and SPECT imaging as well as advanced radiotherapies and emerging theranostic approaches. The medical radioisotope market is estimated at roughly USD 6 billion in 2024, with expected double-digit CAGR driven by rising demand for cancer diagnostics and targeted treatments.
Industrial & research applications — Beyond healthcare, radioisotopes are used in non-destructive testing, sterilization of medical devices and food products, material tracing, quality control, environmental monitoring, power generation systems, and research across physics, chemistry, and biology. The industrial isotope market is valued at around USD 3 billion in 2024, also expanding at >10% CAGR.
Emerging and specialized uses — As technology advances, radioisotopes enable new fields such as theranostics, advanced manufacturing methods, and high-precision scientific tracing. Many commercially relevant isotopes simply cannot be produced with current reactor or accelerator infrastructure.
Because the field of applied radioisotopes is still developing, new use cases continue to emerge. NEXT’s high-energy neutron spectrum unlocks access to production pathways that are extremely difficult—or impossible—to reach with existing facilities.This opens the door to entirely new radioisotopes and applications, creating opportunities far beyond today’s market landscape.
The Production Potential of NEXT
A high-flux, steady-state neutron source unlocking scalable isotope production
NEXT is designed to operate as a steady-state DT neutron source — an environment exceptionally well suited for large-scale radioisotope production. Its fusion-based neutron spectrum delivers much higher energies than reactors or accelerators. While many established isotopes are traditionally produced using thermal neutrons, engineered moderation inside NEXT enables a tailored neutron spectrum for optimal production and may even extend capabilities beyond what existing facilities can achieve today.
The magnitude of NEXT’s potential has been independently validated. A study by the Technical University of Munich (FRM-II) evaluated Mo-99 production and demonstrated that with only 25% uptime NEXT could generate ~17,000 TBq per year, and with 50% uptime up to ~34,000 TBq per year. For comparison, global Mo-99 output in 2024 was roughly 27,000 TBq—showing that a single NEXT facility could match or exceed today’s worldwide supply. Evaluations of additional radioisotopes are currently underway.
This scale is enabled by the large irradiation volume on the inboard side of the torus, continuously exposed to the high-energy neutron flux of the fusion plasma. Meanwhile, the outboard region remains fully available for technology validation—such as breeding blanket concepts—while the divertor is tested independently in the lower part of the vessel.
Together, steady-state operation, engineered spectrum control, and an exceptionally large accessible neutron volume make NEXT a next-generation isotope production facility capable of serving significant shares of global demand at industrial scale—while simultaneously operating as a world-leading fusion technology validation platform.
RIGS — A Modular, High-Throughput System for Advanced Isotope Production
A patented multi-sector system enabling parallel production with seamless operational integration
RIGS (Radioisotope Generation System) is NEXT’s dedicated production architecture, designed to translate the facility’s high-flux neutron environment into reliable, scalable, and flexible isotope output. Installed along the inboard side of the torus, RIGS is divided into 24 independent sections, each of which can be operated separately. This modular layout enables parallel production of multiple radioisotopes, with each section configurable for different precursor materials, irradiation cycles, and extraction schedules.
A key advantage of RIGS is its ability to insert precursor materials and extract irradiated products during operation. Because neutrons play no role in sustaining the fusion reaction, these processes occur without any interference with plasma performance—a fundamental difference from fission reactors, where neutron-flux manipulation directly affects the chain reaction. This makes NEXT uniquely suited for continuous, high-throughput isotope generation.
The system’s flexibility also opens the door to research-oriented applications. The high-energy neutron spectrum within NEXT may allow the evaluation of transmutation pathways, offering potential insights into advanced nuclear waste reduction strategies—an area of scientific interest currently under assessment.
By combining NEXT’s unrivaled neutron environment with the modularity and operational independence of RIGS, the facility becomes far more than a validation platform. It evolves into a high-value production infrastructure whose commercial output naturally offsets the operational costs of advanced fusion technology development. Together, RIGS and NEXT create a uniquely synergistic ecosystem—one that accelerates progress toward fusion energy while delivering substantial economic value today.
A Strategic Advantage for Fusion and Beyond
Turning a cost-intensive validation facility into a value-creating platform for industry and research
By combining NEXT’s unique neutron environment with the modular flexibility of RIGS, the facility becomes far more than a fusion technology demonstrator. It evolves into a dual-purpose infrastructure that generates substantial commercial value while enabling the qualification of fusion technologies, components, materials and operational processes at relevant TRLs.
Radioisotope production provides a powerful economic bridge: as partners develop and validate their concepts—ranging from breeding blankets to operational processes—NEXT simultaneously produces medical, industrial, and research isotopes for a rapidly expanding multi-billion-euro market. This creates a mid-term, predictable revenue stream that can offset operational costs and reduce the financial burden typically associated with advanced fusion research facilities.
This approach naturally supports a public–private partnership (PPP) model, in which public institutions, industry partners, and investors jointly benefit from NEXT’s dual mission. Partners gain access to high-fidelity fusion validation, accelerated component qualification, faster iteration cycles, and reduced development risk—while participating in an infrastructure with intrinsic economic resilience through isotope revenues. At the same time, society benefits from earlier availability of critical radioisotopes and faster progress toward deployable fusion energy technologies.
This synergy establishes NEXT as a first-of-its-kind platform, capable of accelerating the transition toward fusion energy while delivering meaningful value today—a pragmatic, strategic step forward on the path to commercial fusion power.