The Reactor Institute Delft, home to Delft University of Technology’s nuclear research reactor, will receive financial support from the state government to implement a program called the Optimized Yield—for Science, Technology, and Education—of Radiation, or OYSTER. Together with the funds that TU Delft and commercial parties are raising, this financial injection will give the institute the boost it needs to be able to maintain its position as the center of scientific expertise in nuclear and radiation research and education. The extra funds mean that the nuclear reactor can be fitted with a Cold Source. New, innovative research instruments will also be developed. These are essential for the development of materials for sustainable energy technology and for research into the detection and treatment of cancer, among other things.

The Cold Source—a device that can slow down the speed of neutrons—enables the neutrons to be more accurately guided for applications such as materials research. Director of the Reactor Institute Delft and TU Delft dean Tim van der Hagen said, “The slower neutrons are. . . much better at detecting abnormalities in materials, which means, for example, that the efficiency of solar panels and the capacity, charge rate, and safety of batteries can be drastically improved.”

The Reactor Institute Delft is the Dutch center for multidisciplinary scientific research and education in reactor physics, neutron and positron radiation, radiation detection, and radiochemistry. A large part of the research focuses on medical applications, such as the production of medical isotopes and the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In addition, new materials are being developed for sustainable energy such as solar cells and batteries, and work is being carried out to develop the nuclear reactors of the future.