Australia's 'incognito' nuclear reactor marks 20 years of innovation

In short:

Australia's only nuclear reactor, OPAL, is marking 20 years in operation at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation on the outskirts of Sydney.

The reactor is critical in producing nuclear medicine and irradiating silicon for use in major electronic projects.

What's next?

The reactor will be central to researching the latest in battery and electricity technology with real-world implications.

Behind the dense bushland and barbed wire that surround the Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) nuclear reactor is a human story that affects every Australian.

The reactor, located at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) site on the outskirts of Sydney, is the only one in the country and is used every day to produce nuclear medicine and to do experiments.

ANSTO CEO Shaun Jenkinson once had a stranger thank him personally for prolonging the life of the man's father.

"There have been tens of millions of doses of nuclear medicine that have been produced here,"he said.

"In nuclear medicine, what they're doing is diagnosing, staging and treating diseases like cancer.

"Our clinicians require isotopes to do that, and those isotopes are made at ANSTO."

He said he likes to remember that the complex nuclear science developed at ANSTO becomes an essential medicine product that helps families.

"There's probably about five or six reactors globally that are able to do the radiation like we do here, but in addition to the radiation, we also do the processing on site and then from there we send the finished goods to the hospital,"he said.

"There's probably only one other place globally that does all three of those components in one place, so ANSTO is almost unique."

Creating electronics that cannot afford to fail

The OPAL reactor marks 20 years in operation this year.

Alongside producing nuclear medicine, the reactor also treats silicon that ends up in high-powered objects like fast trains, electric vehicles, air conditioning systems, hospital equipment and power grids.

Nuclear silicon treatment at ANSTO provides a deeper, more comprehensive result, making it ideal for high-voltage power systems like electric trains and power grids.

Of the world's demand for this higher-grade irradiated silicon, ANSTO services more than half of the global market.

"We do this highly reliable product that affects people's lives every day, but you probably never know it's there," Mr Jenkinson said.

"But Lucas Heights and ANSTO capture 60 per cent of the global market."

Pure cylinders of silicon are lowered into the OPAL reactor and irradiated to convert some of the silicon atoms to phosphorus.

"Those silicon crystals are then processed, and they end up in devices that affect our everyday life," Mr Jenkinson said.

"All the sort of equipment that you need to operate when you need it — it must be reliable."

Nuclear research to help train tracks and phone batteries

Next door to the OPAL reactor sits the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering.

Neutrons are sent from the nuclear reactor next door, where they are used to study materials and liquids that other methods cannot offer.

"We've been able to look at the crystal structure and how it changes in the charge and discharge of batteries," senior instrument scientist Kirrily Rule said.

"The results that came out of ANSTO showed that once a rechargeable battery was charged beyond around 90%, the crystal structure changed significantly and caused a lot of strain, and this is one of the reasons why battery materials lose their lifetime.

"So I guess one of the outcomes of this work is don't overcharge your phone or leave it on charge overnight."

Professor Rule said they work in partnership with companies developing new battery technology, as well as government organisations like Sydney Trains

"We have an engineering beam line we use for industrial purposes.

"We have a relationship with Sydney Trains, and we look at how their rails change their structure or positions, particularly if we have a cold frost or hot day.

"We bring parts of Sydney's rail here, have a look at them and advise better ways to maintain the rail network so people can get to work in the morning."

Making a 'violent form of physics' elegant

Nathan Markovski started as an apprentice fitter machinist at ANSTO in 2012 and is now one of the OPAL reactor's operators.

He said people do not realise the significance of the science happening on site.

"It works under the radar, and you almost feel quite stealthy in your job because a lot of people don't know where the nuclear medicine comes from, so it's quite incognito working that way," he said.

"We're the only place in Australia that sustains nuclear fission and it's a violent form of physics but we've got it down to a subtle, elegant system.

"People drive past and see the bushes and don't think much of it, but there's a lot going on here physics-wise that's really quite amazing."