was present for a ceremony to mark the start of infrastructure works for the construction of the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor in Iperó The Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB) project - which has been in development since 2008 - will provide benefits in a range of areas notably healthcare where it will ensure Brazil's self-sufficiency in the production of the radioisotope molybdenum-99 and others vital for diagnostics and treatment It will also allow the expansion of the testing and development of nuclear fuels and materials boost scientific research and innovation including by the use of neutron beams and bring benefits in a range of areas including industry and agriculture The RMB is similar to Argentina's RA-10 multipurpose reactor a 30 MWt open-pool research reactor which is currently under construction with operation scheduled in the next year or two Invap signed the agreement in 2013 to build the two research reactors - one in each country - with the reference design to be the Open Pool Australian Light-water (Opal) research reactor that Invap supplied to the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation At the time it was estimated that between them the two new reactors would provide capacity to supply 40% of the world's isotope demand Minister Santos said: "It is a joy to be here celebrating the beginning of the infrastructure works for our Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor a strategic project for Brazil that is now beginning to become a reality We will have one of the most important Brazilian research centres for the application of nuclear technology for the benefit of society and this is a source of pride for all of us." President of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) said: "This ceremony is something that we We are experiencing a historic moment for the Brazilian nuclear sector. The Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor will transform nuclear medicine in Brazil and worldwide given its production and development capacity The multipurpose reactor is to be part of a two million square metre site which will also host laboratories for researching nuclear fusion particle accelerators and radiopharmaceutical development and production The cost has been estimated at USD500 million and the target construction timeline is 5 years Despite the many coronavirus lockdowns around the world and agricultural work continues—but with many new challenges Some crops that were ready to harvest are being plowed under or allowed to rot in the fields because seasonal workers are restricted from traveling Unwanted flowers are being used as feed for livestock and some fishermen are donating their catch to needy families The farm workers who do have jobs worry about possible exposure to the virus but many are glad to have a paycheck right now the demand for organic produce has gone up and farmers are working to get their crops to smaller markets as well as larger warehouses We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025 and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions Federal government includes six projects of interest to scientific community in Growth Acceleration Plan Six initiatives of the Brazilian Ministry for Science and Innovation (MCTI) have been included in the country’s new Growth Acceleration Plan (PAC) announced by the federal government in August Investments are forecast at a total R$7.9 billion by the end of 2026 a program set up two decades ago to upgrade and expand the research infrastructure across universities and science & technology institutes; bid invitations are expected to be issued over the coming years to modernize laboratories and encourage the construction of facilities in regions where there are few in place Large-scale projects are also planned: R$1 billion is earmarked for Orion a group of biosecurity laboratories in Campinas including Brazil’s first maximum-containment facility to manipulate highly pathogenic and lethal microorganisms there are plans for this project’s connection with Sirius a fourth-generation synchrotron light laboratory that began operations in 2020 and the largest and most complex scientific infrastructure facility ever built in Brazil Both facilities belong to the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) With this integration Orion will use three lines of synchrotron light sources and will be capable of analyzing the structure of samples manipulated in the laboratory There are also plans for investment in the second phase of Sirius: the idea is to earmark R$800 million for construction of a further 10 synchrotron light source lines — there are currently 14 sources operating or being installed An endowment of R$1 billion has been promised for the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB) with the aim of producing radioisotopes for use in medicine and industry the project never went ahead due to a lack of funding RNP (National Education and Research Network) information highways are set to receive R$640 million The plan is to extend long-distance optical fiber networks to provide high-speed internet to universities and research institutions in the Brazilian interior the Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring (CEMADEN) which prevents and warns on the risk of natural catastrophes The funds will be used to install facilities seeking to increase the number of municipalities covered by the center from 1,038 to some 1,800 over the next four years IpenGraphic of biosecurity laboratorie the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor in Iperó: investments to deal with lethal microorganisms and manufacture radiopharmaceuticalsIpen “Inclusion of these projects in the PAC highlights the importance of science and innovation in promoting a new development cycle in Brazil and enables society to follow these initiatives,” says MCTI executive secretary Luis Fernandes The investments are boosted by the federal government’s intention to apply resources from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT) the primary federal funding source for research which since 2016 has been the victim of successive and substantial funding reallocations A law passed in April freed up R$4.18 billion from the FNDCT which had been blocked when the 2023 budget was voted upon and the total available in 2023 therefore reached R$9.96 billion a degree of uncertainty around the capacity to maintain a stable flow of funding over the coming years after the Brazilian Congress approved the Sustainable Fiscal Regime which provides for possible blockage of FNDTC funds if the government is unable to control its indebtedness Past inconsistencies in federal funding of science put constraints on conducting or concluding large-scale infrastructure projects The reactor (RMB) is a recent example: its aim is to provide autonomy in the production of radioisotopes primarily used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of diseases “The aim of the RMB is for Brazil to go from importer of radioisotopes to exporter,” says Patrícia Pagetti a researcher from the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) and technical coordinator of the project The initial schedule forecast conclusion of the RMB in 2014 but to date it is a construction site in an area of 2 million square meters in Iperó (São Paulo) Some R$285 million has already been spent on the project for architectural and engineering designs There will still be a need to invest R$2.5 billion in the project — the forecast PAC amount of R$1 billion ensures the resumption of works The initiative has been abandoned for the last five years. In 2021, the federal budget did not have the funds to import radiopharmaceuticals, which came to be lacking in hospitals (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue nº 309) There are four nuclear reactors dedicated to research in Brazil: two in São Paulo however these are old structures with performance limits six times more than the most powerful reactor currently operating in Brazil Sluggishness in conclusion of a large-scale research facility gives rise to adverse effects that go beyond its unavailability for a longer period than forecast Sirius’s only competitor was a similar facility in Sweden and this gave the Brazilian scientific matter analysis community the opportunity to undertake studies that few around the world would be capable of doing Facilities these days are still very competitive but vie with other countries having similar sources CemadenSituation room at the Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring (CEMADEN): increase in the number of municipalities coveredCemaden The synchrotron light source is a type of wide-spectrum electromagnetic radiation — starting with infrared light transitioning through ultraviolet radiation and attaining X-rays — which is produced when charged particles accelerated to velocities close to the speed of light in a tunnel Synchrotron light channeled into research stations can penetrate matter and reveal the characteristics of its molecular and atomic structure Sirius was designed to receive up to 38 lines of light dedicated to different techniques and applications Planned PAC funds will be allocated to the installation of a further 10 lines additional to the three earmarked for Orion with completion scheduled for the end of 2027 “This expansion will provide greater capacity to investigate the most diverse materials in different space and time scales,” explains Antônio José Roque da Silva this diversity of scales is essential.” Roque is set to begin more effective planning of the third and last project phase The most ambitious scientific initiative planned under the PAC is Orion and its conception cannot be disassociated from the recent pandemic experience A complex of biosecurity laboratories that includes one in the NB4 category Orion enables viruses of high pathogenicity and mortality for which there are neither medications nor vaccines The only virus in this category identified to date in Brazil is the sabiá (SABV) This condition was first diagnosed in humans in the 1990s and after almost 20 years without being reported Research requiring the manipulation of this pathogen cannot be undertaken in Brazil due to a lack of appropriate infrastructure There are 60 such laboratories around the world A maximum biosecurity facility will make it possible to isolate and monitor biological agents and assist in the development of diagnosis methods The connection with the three synchrotron light lines will enable analysis of cell and tissue structures and tomography scans of small animals contaminated by pathogens National Education & Research Network (RNP)Layouts of information highway projects in the states of Pará and Bahia: R$640 million to provide high-velocity internet to research institutions in the interiorNational Education & Research Network (RNP) a program operated by the Brazilian Funding Authority for Studies and Projects (FINEP) is aimed at expanding and providing competitiveness across the network of thousands of university and research-institution laboratories says that the criteria for distribution of the funds and calls for tender are still being defined He goes on to say that in addition to the need to modernize the infrastructure the investments will consider criteria such as the decentralization of scientific activity in Brazil Partnerships with state-level research foundations will receive federal cofunding of 4:1 in the North and 3:1 in the Northeast and Midwest; they will be more equally balanced in the South and Southeast Another goal is to streamline relations with private initiative to increase the participation of corporations in science “Investments in countries that have made great strides in innovation are 20% public and 80% private we are still at half-and-half,” confirms Fernandes The funds for the MCTI are a small part — slightly more than 0.5% — of the amount involved in the New PAC which plans public and private disbursements to the tune of R$1.78 trillion “In the case of science and technology projects the PAC should be seen as an attempt to organize investments and set priorities,” says economist Fernanda De Negri of the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) She believes that the mixture of large-scale facilities for multiple users seeks to meet the immediate and medium-term needs of the scientific community De Negri highlights the importance of large projects to confer scale and more competitiveness upon Brazilian scientific output but also indicates the requirement to update and modernize a series of laboratories and research facilities that received no investment over recent years and account for a significant proportion of scientific output in the country “It’s the smaller laboratories that sustain Brazilian scientific output It will certainly not be a case of suddenly deciding that the investments will only go to the big projects.” However she warns that long-term funds will be needed for Brazil to deal with the challenges of research in areas such as climate change and the energy transition “It’s the only way Brazil will be able to create scale to promote high-level research,” she concludes The strategy for the Infovias RNP (information highways) program is to widen connectivity and security coverage for education and research The investments will go into implementing 18 new state-level information highways The optics infrastructure will be shared among education and research organizations using the RNP system and the partner state-government network Under these initiatives there will be more than 40,000 km of optical fiber with the aspiration of reaching 1,328 universities and 12 innovation facilities and technological parks we will make advances in digital inclusion and skills-enabling among the Brazilian population primarily in the more remote regions,” says RNP institutional relations director Gorgonio Araújo “The aim is to move increasingly into the interior so that research and data traffic are similarly accessible as those in the large urban centers and in any other part of the country,” says Araújo will be used to expand the geographical coverage of warnings issued by the institution on the risk of slope landslides and which support the work of Civil Defence units The municipalities to be included are not yet defined but it is projected that the Brazilian population covered will increase from 55.7% to approximately 70% “Some of the money will be allocated to modernizing our Information Technology Park which was conceived in 2011 and is in need of updating,” says CEMADEN director Regina Alvalá © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English By Leonardo Bandarra | April 12 The Brazilian Navy’s first Scorpène-class submarine Brazilians elected former army captain Jair Bolsonaro to a four-year term as president He not only represents an ideological shift after 13 years of center-left administrations but also brings back members of the armed forces to a position of power more than 30 years after the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship But what does his election mean for Brazilian nuclear policy Brazil also possesses the only bilateral safeguards agency in the world: the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials This agency acts as an intermediary between both countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with which it regularly conducts joint inspections Lula also brought back a nationalist perspective regarding nuclear energy. Most controversially, in 2004 Lula denied IAEA inspectors full access to a nuclear fuel factory at Resende in Rio de Janeiro state The argument for that was twofold: protecting industrial secrets and claiming that IAEA access was not necessary because the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials already had full access to the facility Bolsonaro was elected with a vague program but already he seems to be placing a higher priority on nuclear technology than his predecessors The most relevant actors to watch are the military ones which has historically managed nuclear affairs in Brazil—and is currently tasked with delivering Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine by 2029 The quest for a nuclear submarine. Explosive nuclear devices are expressly forbidden by Brazil’s international agreements and by domestic institutions. However, Article 21 of Brazil’s constitution allows nuclear activities “for peaceful purposes,” and Brazil has interpreted that to include nuclear propulsion for military submarines Having a nuclear submarine is an old ambition of the Brazilian Navy. The nuclear-powered submarine project dates back to 1979, as part of a secret program conducted by the Armed Forces and other branches of the government. It became a priority in the wake of the Falklands War in 1982 when British Valiant-class nuclear-powered submarines were spotted in the South Atlantic Ocean the Valiant gave an unfair advantage to the British since the subs were practicably undetectable by Argentinian technology according to telegrams in the archives of Brazil and Argentina Brazil bought from West Germany a Type 209 diesel-electric attack submarine the sub received a steel hull that would enable its conversion into a nuclear-powered vehicle through the addition of a small nuclear reactor and the Navy started to look at other alternatives After the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1985 a general mistrust of military-related projects left the nuclear submarine program in limbo The first elected civilian governments—under Presidents Fernando Collor de Mello and Fernando Henrique Cardoso—paid little attention to the nuclear submarine program which faced significant budget constraints in the 1990s Even though the cooperation agreement includes the transfer of know-how from France to Brazil This specific technology is entirely homegrown—developed by the Navy at its research facility in Iperó in São Paulo state Iperó is the only military facility in a non-nuclear weapon state to officially house a uranium enrichment plant The French contribution includes the training of Brazilian officials and technical staff and the transfer of technology to build the non-nuclear part of the submarine test the viability of Brazil’s indigenous technology it will not only increase the Brazilian Navy’s capabilities but could also open new markets for Brazil’s arms industry which heavily supported Bolsonaro’s candidacy the former Director-General for Nuclear and Technological Development in the Navy For the first time since Brazil’s re-democratization the Armed Forces enjoy substantial bargaining power Bolsonaro’s election was only possible due to his projected image as a hard-liner on defense and security issues including promises to give the military a relevant role in his administration Choosing Hamilton Mourão as vice president was a way to attract support from high-ranking military officials considerable freedom of action and popular support to set priorities The submarine program is expected to continue and A functional nuclear submarine industry in Brazil will be unprecedented for a non-nuclear weapon state PROSUB will also affect the private sector, because the agreement with France includes a joint venture between the French industrial group DCNS and Oderbrecht, an industrial conglomerate at the center of what is known as the largest corruption scandal in Brazilian history The deployment of a Brazilian nuclear submarine will enshrine an expanded definition of “peaceful uses” of atomic energy by showing that nuclear technology can be employed by the military in non-nuclear weapon states This conceptual change will require creativity and legal innovation particularly in the realm of international safeguards A new safeguards agreement to cover PROSUB is already under negotiation between Brazil and the IAEA, but its future shape is unknown, and it is unclear whether it would be replicable in other countries. Brazil’s rejection of the Additional Protocol to IAEA safeguards has increased the uncertainty Brazil also binds any possible signature of the Protocol to progress in disarmament by nuclear weapon states it will benefit both the defense and economic sectors that building a nuclear-powered submarine and developing nuclear technology is not as simple as it seems It depends not only on technical expertise but also the goal of PROSUB seems more realistic than ever but the program’s success will depend on whether the Navy can maintain its autonomy within the rest of the bureaucracy The Bulletin elevates expert voices above the noise. But as an independent nonprofit organization, our operations depend on the support of readers like you. Help us continue to deliver quality journalism that holds leaders accountable. Your support of our work at any level is important we promise our coverage will be understandable Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Regarding the article “Brazilian nuclear policy under Bolsonaro” The author seems to have neglected some important details and features of Brazilian nuclear activities 1 – ABACC is not an ïntermediary “between both countries and the IAEA” The binational agency conducts independent inspections and consults often with the IAEA 2 – Brazil and the IAEA agreed on a formula for conducting inspections at the Resende enrichment plant by which both the inspectors’\ concerns and Brazilian worries about the protection of industrial secrets were addressed satisfactorily for both parties No disputes have arisen since regarding… Read more » which are significantly complementary to my article Here are some further responses to them: 1- ABACC is it also performs joint-inspections with the IAEA as I determined by the 1991 Quadripartite Agreement 2/3 – Thank you for your notes on Resende and Iperó I chose to focus on the initial controversy… Read more » Leonardo Bandarra is an associate at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and a project associate research fellow at the Middle... Read More Copyright © 2025 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. All rights reserved. Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 36-2136497 Terms of UsePrivacy Policy Metrics details Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite materials offer the potential for realization of low-cost and flexible next-generation solar cells fabricated by low-temperature solution processing Although efficiencies of perovskite solar cells have dramatically improved up to 19% within the past 5 years there is still considerable room for further improvement in device efficiency and stability through development of novel materials and device architectures Here we demonstrate that inverted-type perovskite solar cells with pH-neutral and low-temperature solution-processable conjugated polyelectrolyte as the hole transport layer (instead of acidic PEDOT:PSS) exhibit a device efficiency of over 12% and improved device stability in air this work is the first report on the use of an organic hole transport material that enables the formation of uniform perovskite films with complete surface coverage and the demonstration of efficient stable perovskite/fullerene planar heterojunction solar cells high-temperature annealing is required for the metal oxides (titanium oxide and zinc oxide are commonly used as the electron transport layer) The high-temperature annealing is not consistent with the use of flexible plastic substrates These devices with CPE-K achieve a PCE of over 12% with enhanced device stability under ambient conditions These improvements are attributed to the excellent wetting of perovskite precursor solution on the CPE layer efficient hole selectivity between the perovskite and indium tin oxide (ITO) anode and pH-neutral CPE-K solution (a) Comparison of transmittance between PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K on the ITO substrate (b) XRD patterns of perovskite films on PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K layer There were negligible differences in the intensity of diffraction peaks between the two underlayers implying that both PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K are appropriate substrates for transforming perovskite precursor materials into the desirable perovskite crystal phase SEM top-view images of perovskite films spin-coated on top of (a) PEDOT:PSS and (b) CPE-K We also studied the surface energy of PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K by performing contact angle measurements. Contact angles of PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K films to DMF were extremely low (<3°, Supplementary Fig. 6) and therefore both layers provide excellent wettability with DMF These results reveal that the physical properties of CPE-K relevant for fabrication of devices are compatible with perovskite solution and enable the formation of high coverage uniform perovskite films (a) Steady-state PL spectra and (b) time-resolved PL decay transients of perovskite films on different substrates PL decay transients were collected at 770 nm for all films in vacuum after excitation at 405 nm (a) Device architecture and (b) energy-band diagram of the devices with PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K as the HTL. (a) Current density–voltage (J–V) curves (c) efficiency distribution diagram and (d) device stability of ipero-SCs with PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K under ambient air condition Inset table of a indicates solar cell parameters Inset images of d exhibit the photos of real devices with PEDOT:PSS and CPE-K after air exposure for 12 h which further confirms that CPE-K is beneficial for improving device stability we have successfully employed pH-neutral and low-temperature solution-processable CPE-K as the HTL in inverted-type perovskite solar cells Excellent wetting of perovskite precursor solution on the CPE-K layer leads to uniform active layer film with complete surface coverage and superior hole selectivity for facilitating hole transport from perovskite to the ITO anode the device with CPE-K exhibits higher device efficiency than that of the device fabricated with widely used PEDOT:PSS CPE-K improves the device stability in air because of the neutral pH of the underlayer As an alternative to PEDOT:PSS and p-type metal oxides CPE-K is a promising hole transport material for efficient perovskite/fullerene planar heterojunction solar cells that can be used on flexible substrates via roll-to-roll processing This strategy also offers a new approach to design hybrid tandem solar cells employing CPE-K as the intermediate layer and combining organometallic perovskites and small bandgap organic semiconductors as the active layer we spin-cast CPE-K solution with concentration of 0.25 wt.% in solvent mixture of deionized water and methanol (1:1 vol.%) and the film was dried at 80 °C for 10 min After transferring samples into nitrogen-filled glovebox precursor solutions of MAPbI3−XClX perovskite were spin-cast at 7,000 r.p.m A PCBM solution with a concentration of 1.3 wt.% in chloroform was spin-cast at 3,000 r.p.m an Al electrode with thickness of 100 nm was deposited on top of the PCBM under vacuum (<10−6Torr) by thermal evaporation The area of the Al electrode defines the active area of the device as 3.30 mm2 The J–V characteristics of the solar cells were measured by a Keithley 2400 Source Measure Unit The solar cell performance was tested with an Air Mass 1.5 Global (AM 1.5 G) solar simulator with an irradiation intensity of 100 mW cm−2 EQE measurements were obtained using the PV measurement QE system by applying monochromatic light from a xenon lamp under ambient conditions The monochromatic light intensity was calibrated using a Si photodiode and chopped at 100 Hz Masks (1.70 mm2) made of thin black plastic were attached to each cell before measurement of the J–V characteristics and the EQE to accurately measure the performance of solar cells All devices were tested in ambient air after ultraviolet epoxy encapsulation Conjugated polyelectrolyte hole transport layer for inverted-type perovskite solar cells Long-range balanced electron- and hole-transport lengths in organic-inorganic CH3NH3PbI3 Electron-hole diffusion lengths exceeding 1 micrometer in an organometal trihalide perovskite absorber Cesium-doped methylammonium lead iodide perovskite light absorber for hybrid solar cells Organometal halide perovskites as visible-light sensitizers for photovoltaic cells Efficient planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells by vapour deposition Solvent engineering for high-performance inorganic–organic hybrid perovskite solar cells Interface engineering of highly efficient perovskite solar cells Mixed solvents for the optimization of morphology in solution-processed inverted-type perovskite/fullerene hybrid solar cells CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite/fullerene planar-heterojunction hybrid solar cells Perovskite solar cells employing organic charge-transport layers Perovskite-based hybrid solar cells exceeding 10% efficiency with high reproducibility using a thin film sandwich approach Recent progress in polymer solar cells: manipulation of polymer:fullerene morphology and the formation of efficient inverted polymer solar cells Efficient organometal trihalide perovskite planar-heterojunction solar cells on flexible polymer substrates p-type mesoscopic nickel oxide/organometallic perovskite heterojunction solar cells Hole-transport material variation in fully vacuum deposited perovskite solar cells Metal-oxide-free methylammonium lead iodide perovskite-based solar cells: the influence of organic charge transport layers Conductive conjugated polyelectrolyte as hole-transporting layer for organic bulk heterojunction solar cells and thermoelectric properties of self-doped narrow-band-gap conjugated polyelectrolytes Additive enhanced crystallization of solution-processed perovskite for highly efficient planar-heterojunction solar cells High-performance and environmentally stable planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells based on a solution-processed copper-doped nickel oxide hole-transporting layer Direct observation of ferroelectric domains in solution-processed CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite thin films The origin of high efficiency in low-temperature solution-processable bilayer organometal halide hybrid solar cells Low-temperature solution-processed perovskite solar cells with high efficiency and flexibility Large fill-factor bilayer iodine perovskite solar cells fabricated by a low-temperature solution-process Benefits of very thin PCBM and LiF layers for solution-processed p-i-n perovskite solar cells The role of chlorine in the formation process of “CH3NH3PbI3-xClx” perovskite Atomistic origins of high-performance in hybrid halide perovskite solar cells Facile doping of anionic narrow-band-gap conjugated polyelectrolytes during dialysis Download references This research was supported by the Department of the Navy Office of Naval Research Award (N00014-14-1-0580) the BK21 Plus funded by the Ministry of Education the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant (NRF-2013R1A2A2A01015342) and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (MURI FA9550-12-1-0002) Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) analysed the data and prepared the manuscript helped with the solar cell fabrication and measured contact angles supervised preparation of CPE-K and participated the discussion All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript The authors declare no competing financial interests Supplementary Methods and Supplementary References (PDF 827 kb) Download citation Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics (2021) Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed CA steps up child online safety with new industry guidelines Kenya rallies Africa to transform food systems for sovereignty Govt defends entry of Chinese investors into key sectors 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Dec 3 — The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has advertised the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Board Secretary position Poor technical know-how made it difficult to set up a new industry in Brazil 200 years ago PARANÁ AND SANTA CATARINA/CIA EDITORA NACIONAL/ FAU/USP COLLECTIONThe Royal Iron Factory as painted by Debret in 1821ILLUSTRATION BY J.B PARANÁ AND SANTA CATARINA/CIA EDITORA NACIONAL/ FAU/USP COLLECTION Brazil’s first major investment in steel milling started with a fiasco that went on for four years in the early nineteenth century Despite the Portuguese government’s efforts to plan and support metallurgical enterprises it took this industry a long time to firmly establish itself in Brazil That there was iron ore in the states of  Minas Gerais and São Paulo had been an established fact for quite a while the Portuguese sponsored the training of Portuguese and Brazilians at the best European metallurgical centers it was only when the Portuguese Court moved to Brazil that the superintendent Manoel Ferreira da Câmara Bittencourt was allowed to establish the basis of the Patriotica plant in Gaspar Soares the Portuguese administration ordered the construction of the São João de Ipanema Royal Iron Mill (Real Fábrica de Ferro) in Iperó The two concerns took years to produce any metal whatsoever “The lack of suitable know-how and of specialized labor was only partially overcome in Brazil during the second half of the 1810’s,” says Fernando Landgraf the Innovation director of IPT (the Technological Research Institute) and a researcher at the Polytechnic School at the University of São Paulo REPRODUCTION TAKEN FROM THE BOOK RETRATOS DE IPANEMA GEOGRÁFICO E GENEALÓGICO DE SOROCABAPhoto from 1890 five years before it was shut downREPRODUCTION TAKEN FROM THE BOOK RETRATOS DE IPANEMA Portugal had always been aware of the importance of controlling the entire iron ore export cycle and of the transformation of ore into the three families of products known in the early nineteenth century: pig iron (iron with carbon content of about 4%) wrought iron (carbon content below 0.1%) and steel (carbon content around 1%) Swedes and Germans from Saxony and Hesse had the tradition of steel mills with hundreds of blast furnaces in these regions the Portuguese hired Frederico Luiz Guilherme Varnhagen and Guilherme Eschwege Germans who advised José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva in the Figueiró dos Vinhos Iron Plant in Portugal it was in Sweden that the administration of the Empire hired a technical team headed by an experienced man It was crucial to be familiar with blast furnace construction techniques in order to make iron successfully “Blast furnaces run on an ongoing basis; they never stop which makes all the difference when it comes to producing the metal,”  says Landgraf the author of a newly published article in Metalurgia e Metais written jointly by Paulo Eduardo Martins Araújo and Sven-Gunnar Sporback Hedberg was chosen for his experience with blast furnaces and he brought to Iperó other technicians and machines purchased abroad a waterwheel and a reservoir but he abandoned the established notion of a blast furnace producing only three tons of very poor quality iron over four years there is an ongoing discussion as to what led the Swede to act in this way “There is the hypothesis of sabotage but I believe in the hypothesis that his technicians were rather incompetent and didn’t know how to work properly,”  Landgraf evaluates There was also another problem: ignorance of how to deal with the type of iron ore from that area He then hired German technicians and produced some 30 tons a year superintendent Câmara only managed to smelt iron for three days.” The Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor should be able to meet Brazil’s needs for radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat disease NEWCASTLE UPON-TYNE / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/SPL DCTomography done with application of technetium-99m in patient shows cancer in the upper leg bonesLATINSTOCK / SIMON FRASER/MEDICAL PHYSICS NEWCASTLE UPON-TYNE / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/SPL DC If all goes as planned and budgetary resources remain available within five years Brazil will become self-sufficient in producing radioisotopes—radioactive substances that can be used to diagnose and treat various diseases agricultural and environmental applications The Brazilian government is expected to invest about $500 million equivalent to approximately R$1.09 billion in constructing the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor a major research center to be built in the city of Iperó Construction of the project is one of the goals of the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and is aligned with the Brazilian Nuclear Program (BNP) “In addition to producing radioisotopes for health the Multipurpose Reactor will test fuel and structural materials for nuclear centers,” says José Augusto Perrotta the project’s technical coordinator; he also serves as an advisor to the head of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) an agency of the Ministry and responsible for the Reactor “The reactor will also provide neutron beams for scientific and technological research and educate and train professionals to meet the needs of the BNP.” Among the most important products of the new Brazilian research reactor will be the radioisotope molybdenum-99 (Mo99) which is produced from the fission of uranium-235 (U235) a device called a technetium generator is also being built the m stands for metastable) is a radioisotope and forms the basis of radiopharmaceuticals used in about 80% of the diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine about 2 million procedures in this medical area are performed each year “Brazil needs to import all its molybdenum-99 needs,” says Perrotta around 21,000 curies [a curie (Ci) is the unit used to measure radioactivity] of Mo99 were imported at a total cost of $10.1 million.” According to Perrotta the Multipurpose Reactor is expected to produce at least one thousand curies per week of molybdenum-99 which is equal to approximately 50,000 curies per annum Today the world has between 240 and 250 nuclear research reactors in operation and some are producing radioisotopes for many diverse applications Canada alone accounts for 40% of the world’s production the main Canadian reactor encountered problems and was temporarily shut down which led to a crisis in this area of medicine The problem may become more acute within a few years because most reactors in operation are near the end of their useful lives and will be deactivated The Multipurpose Reactor and its associated laboratories—for processing radioisotopes analyzing irradiated materials and neutron beams—will be located in an area of 2 million square meters (m2) adjacent to the Aramar Experimental Center of the Brazilian Navy which transferred 1.2 million m2 of land for the reactor Another 800,000 m2 will be expropriated by the São Paulo state government and also assigned to the project Perrotta says it will be an open-pool type in which water is used as a neutron moderator radiation shielding and cooling to remove the heat generated by nuclear reactions “The water keeps the reactor’s temperature below 100°C which provides greater safety for the system,” says Perrotta “This type of reactor is simpler than those used in nuclear power plants The degree of safety and reliability is higher which means they can be located at research centers and universities near cities.” CUSTON MEDICAL STOCK PHOTO / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBARYTechnetium-99m is injected into the patient for purposes of the diagnosis Tomography equipment captures the tracer images of the radiopharmaceuticalCUSTON MEDICAL STOCK PHOTO / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBARY The new reactor will have a thermal power of up to 30 MW which in terms of size in the world puts it in the intermediate range “The reactor uses as a point of reference the design of the Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) reactor which has a capacity of 20 MW and opened in 2007,” says Perrotta “The basic design of our reactor was developed cooperatively by CNEN and its counterpart in Argentina the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) The Argentine company Invap was hired to do this because it built the one in Australia.” CNEA is also building a reactor similar to our Multipurpose Reactor and this cooperation helps to reduce costs for both parties was hired to do the basic engineering and infrastructure design for housing the Brazilian reactor and its laboratories and associated systems The National Science and Technology Development Fund (FNDCT) has allocated R$50 million for the basic engineering design; it forms a reserve fund that finances research development and innovation and is administered by the Brazilian Innovation Agency (Finep) a number of studies and reports on environmental impacts and license applications are needed for construction of the Multipurpose Reactor; CNEN has invested R$2.7 million of its budget in this regard Producing Mo99 in the reactor includes a series of steps that are inherent to the nuclear fuel cycle “The ore is removed from the mine and processed to yield a concentrate of uranium known as yellowcake,” says Perrotta which involves technology Brazil has already mastered is carried out in several phases and results in small plates which contain enriched uranium dispersed inside The targets are irradiated in the reactor for one week to produce radioactive elements from the uranium fission These targets are then dissolved in the processing laboratory which is sent to the radiopharmacy producing radiopharmaceuticals A device known as a technetium generator is produced there This technetium generator is distributed to hospitals and clinics a medical specialist is able to extract calibrated solutions containing technetium-99m that associated with specific organic molecules are used for diagnostic nuclear medicine,” says Perrotta based on affinities to and rejections of various types of cells goes to the organ or region to be diagnosed How a diagnosis is done with nuclear medicine is different from one that uses X-rays in which radiation passes through the patient without leaving any traces and sensitizes a photographic film After the patient is injected with the solution radiation begins to be emitted from within the patient’s body which is captured externally by radiation detectors president of the Brazilian Society of Nuclear Medicine (SBMN) which will also be produced in the Multipurpose Reactor enable the treatment of various other diseases such as thyroid cancer and neuroendocrine tumors “With technetium-99m it is possible to make images that allow us to see cellular metabolism in living tissue,” he says “With the various radiopharmaceuticals it is possible to see the distribution of a particular hormone in the body or glucose uptake in a region which can reveal the presence and aggressiveness of a tumor Radiopharmaceuticals even make it possible to see the functioning of internal organs Technetium-99m has an additional advantage: a short half-life Half-life is the time it takes for a radioactive element to lose (emitted in the form of radiation) half of its atoms has a half-life of 700 million years and cesium-137 another element used in nuclear medicine and that will also be produced in the reactor has a half-life of 8.02 days and that of technetium-99m is only six hours every six hours the intensity of radiation in the patient’s body is reduced by half and in two or three days there will be virtually no radioactive intensity remaining.” The high-intensity neutron flux generated in the Multipurpose Reactor will test fuels and materials used in reactors for power generation such as at the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plant (Rio de Janeiro State) and for propulsion such as the method that will be used in the prototype nuclear submarine being developed by the Navy “The reactor will provide technical insurance to these projects ensuring the continued development of nuclear knowledge for Brazil,” says Perrotta it will house a laboratory using neutron beams in materials research complementing the work of the National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) If we do not move forward in this industry we will end up on the margins of world development and be at the mercy of foreign suppliers.” who is also director of the University of Campinas (Unicamp) Nuclear Medicine Service believes it is “extremely important” for Brazil to build the reactor “The impact will not only be in nuclear medicine biology and other areas of research,” he says “The reactor will not just produce radioisotopes the Multipurpose Reactor will help the region where it will be located to become a center for nuclear technology in Brazil © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved.