Celebrating 15 Years of OPAL

18 October 2022 marked 15 Years of operation for ANSTO’s Open Pool Australian Lightwater reactor (OPAL).  

It was an honour to be there with Ambassador Pablo Tettamanti, Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister.

OPAL’s construction was an international effort. ANSTO partnered with Argentinian company INVAP to design and construct this world-leading research reactor for Australia to power various nuclear research, medicine and innovative technologies.

Opened by the Prime Minister in 2007, OPAL is a reactor that has the capacity to produce commercial quantities of radioisotopes. OPAL is placed amongst the best research reactors in the world due to its capacity combined with its open pool design, the use of low enriched uranium fuel and wide range of applications.