Health and Environment: A 6 million-euro hi-tech pole at the ENEA Research Centre near Bologna

A pole of excellence for health and the environment, specializing in the development of advanced technologies in the fields not only of nuclear medicine and ionizing radiation for oncological diagnosis and therapies, but also hi-tech drones for monitoring the security of strategic infrastructures such as bridges and viaducts.

This is the goal of the three projects − accounting for a total sum of 6 million euros − that will be implemented in the ENEA Research Centre of Brasimone, 60 kilometres from Bologna, with positive economic and employment impacts both for the municipalities of the area and at a national level in the field of radionuclides. The projects were presented at the CR Brasimone (Research Centre of Brasimone) by the President of ENEA, Federico Testa, Massimo Gnudi for the Metropolitan City of Bologna, and Silvano Bertini for the Department of Productive Activities of the Emilia-Romagna Region, together with Paolo Tassin and Maurizio Martellini, representing the companies, METAPROJECTS and TheranostiCentre. “Canada’s decision to close the National Research Universal Reactor, the world’s leading producer of this nuclear medicine radioisotope, opens up very interesting and wide-ranging market prospects,” explained ENEA’s President, Federico Testa. “Our project, called ‘Sorgentina’ aims to turn to best account the know-how and the large experimental equipment of CR Brasimone to create innovative life-science products − a constantly expanding sector. Hence, ENEA’s decision to invest around 1.4 million euros to this end.”

“These projects, which the Region has decided to co-fund with 4.5 million euros are the fruit of our efforts to re-launch the ENEA Centre in Brasimone, to exploit the potentials of the considerable scientific expertise which has developed in recent years”, added the Councillor for Productive Activities of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Palma Costi. “An industrial scientific trend is emerging, linked to advanced radiotherapy, which may develop into a pole of aggregation for companies and industries in the Region, interacting with leading-edge sectors, mechanical engineering industry, robotics, ‘virtual and augmented reality’, big data management, and areas of development fostered by our ecosystem industries. We firmly believe that ENEA at Brasimone can become a technology park and a pole, aggregating these industrial experiences, emerging in the region and which are set to excel internationally.

The opportunities generated by this specific call for tenders are accompanied by the attractiveness of the investment prospects of establishing innovative companies locally. The investments proposed and the ability to create synergic relations with universities and research organizations will make the work of the Centre even more decisive as a means of attracting qualified HR here, thus boosting development within the municipalities of the Bologna Apennines area and locally in general.”

Operationally speaking, the ENEA SORGENTINA project foresees installation, at the Brasimone Centre, of a small-scale prototype of a plant for industrial production of sodium molybdate containing 99Mo, an isotope of strategic value for nuclear medicine. The objective is to demonstrate the optimal quality of the final product and the economic sustainability of the process, in order to then attract a private investor to build a centre, locally, for commercial production of 99Mo, under licence from ENEA. According to initial estimates, the plant will ensure production of radionuclides equal to one third of the nationwide demand, for ​​7 million inhabitants, and will create 70 highly specialized jobs.

The LINCER project foresees construction of a multi-functional infrastructure – for application of ionizing radiation in the fields of oncological diagnosis and radiotherapy – equipped with auxiliary diagnostic systems, remote control of the instruments, and a physico-chemical and biological characterization laboratory for biomedical experimentation work, synergically operating with the “Traceability” laboratory of the Alta Tecnologia dell’Emilia Romagna (Emilia-Romagna High Technology Network). The LINCER infrastructure will serve companies and institutions in the field of verification of industrial applications (materials science, cultural heritage, medical applications) of compact, ‘portable’ neutron generators.

At LINCER, integration shall also be developed − with a robotic surgical system − of NEUTRON BRUSH®, a prototype compact neutron generator for intraoperative radiation therapy, for which ENEA and TheranostiCentre srl have undersigned a collaboration agreement regarding assembly and functional verification. LINCER will also host tests of materials functionalized for optimization of therapy. The Exadrone project shall be developed by ENEA in collaboration with METAPROJECTS. The project provides for the creation of a Permanent Centre of Excellence for mechanical and electronic design, construction and testing of customized industrial drones with characteristics superior to marketplace standards. The drones will be equipped with innovative systems for data acquisition and storage (big data), and with remotely controlled systems for control and monitoring of environments presenting criticalities, enabling safety inspections of infrastructures of national importance such as viaducts, bridges and dams. A Flight Academy (Accademia CRB) will also be created including a new experimental operational area in the fields of ​​automation and control, with ongoing activities, in the ambits of materials, electronics and advanced sensors, specifically targeting applications for major infrastructures. The actions as planned are governed by the memorandum of understanding undersigned by ENEA and the Regions of Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany on 15th January last.