Last weekend, Dutch radio [pressrelease, in Dutch] revealed a local government decision to stop financing the preparatory phase for Pallas, a proposed research reactor for medical isotopes. The secret decision is reportedly based on the weak business case which NRG, the initiator of the new-build project, submitted to the province of Noord-Holland. The members of the local government body are said to have had little confidence in the business case or the ability of NRG to attract private finance for the Pallas-reactor project (estimated cost: EUR 600m).

The Province of Noord-Holland and the Dutch State were financing the the initial phase of the Pallas-reactor together on a 50/50 base. This Friday, 30 October, Dutch Minister Kamp (Economic Affairs) will discuss the arisen situation with his colleagues at the Province in Haarlem. The financial outlook for the proposed Pallas-reactor is dim because the market for medical isotopes is rapidly changing; Cyclotrons, cheaper and more environmental friendly means of producing medical isotopes, are quickly emerging. This is the second time a preparatory phase of the Pallas-reactor is abandoned; In 2010 a tender for the reactor was withdrawn due to a lack of investors.