An Albuquerque company specializing in medical isotopes has announced plans to build a 70,000 square-foot production facility in southeast New Mexico.
Although the exact site for the plant has not yet been disclosed, it is known that it will be on 240 acres somewhere between the cities of Hobbs and Eunice.
Eden Radioisotopes is a medical technology startup, launched in 2012, focusing on uranium substances used in medical imaging procedures for diagnosis purposes.
The new facility, long in the planning stage, will include the construction of a less than 2-megawatt nuclear reactor to be used exclusively to produce the medical isotopes.
The company has exclusively licensed technology originally developed by the Sandia National Laboratories to produce medical isotopes and has just received, with Sandia, a regional Federal Laboratory Consortium award.
That award is given in recognition of federal laboratories and their partners for outstanding work in developing and commercializing innovative technologies.
Earlier this year, Eden additionally secured crucial backing for the reactor project through an investment agreement with the Artesia, New Mexico-based Abo Empire, an energy development company.
Eden’s purchase of the 240 acres is expected to be finalized by next spring, with construction of the new facility beginning in either late 2021 or early 2022.
By Garry Boulard
