The University of Missouri (UM) has inked a $10 million deal with a Korean consortium for the design and licensing of a new nuclear research reactor, NextGen MURR.
The university signed its first agreement on the initiative on April 16 with a consortium that includes Hyundai Engineering America, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), the Hyundai Engineering Company, and MPR Associates, UM said in a statement. NextGen MURR will produce medical isotopes used in nuclear medicine for cancer treatment, such as lutetium-177.
The initial agreement covers the design phase and development of the “roadmap” for the new reactor. It will include detailed programming studies and a preliminary site evaluation and will establish an initial project cost and schedule estimate for the entire site, UM said.
This $10 million agreement is expected to take approximately six months to complete. The total initiative is expected to cost $1 billion and take eight to 10 years, according to reports.
