During a meeting on Thursday 17 February at the National Research CenterNuclear, Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa and NCBJ Director Prof. Ph.D. Eng. Krzysztof Kurek raised many topics related to the functioning and development of NCBJ, including extension of the license to operate the MARIA reactor, large CERAD and PolFEL projects and the status of nuclear institutes in the light of the development of nuclear energy in Poland.

MARIA, the only research nuclear reactor in Poland, plays an important role for science, economy and nuclear medicine, as well as for the development of the Polish Nuclear Power Program. The reactor has an operating license valid until the end of March 2025. The issue of license extension and the resulting necessity to obtain funds were one of the topics discussed by Minister of Climate Anna Moskwa with the Director of the National Center for Nuclear Research, Prof. Ph.D. Eng. Krzysztof Kurek.

„Providing subsidies for the modernization is a condition for the continued operation of the MARIA reactor. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Science, we will continue work towards finding stable financing for NCBJ " – said Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa.

The meeting was also an opportunity to talk about investment projects carried out by NCBJ: CERAD and PolFel. The first concerns radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostics and therapy, which would enable earlier detection of diseases and implementation of appropriate therapeutic procedures. PolFel, on the other hand, includes work on the construction of a free electron laser, which allows the study of materials, chemical molecules, biological molecules and the dynamics of the processes in which they participate with precision that is unavailable by other methods. It is expected that the results of research conducted with the use of this laser will have revolutionary significance for medicine, chemistry and electronics.

Bearing in mind the importance of the projects carried out by NCBJ, it is important to provide the institute with adequate funding. Currently, NCBJ functions as a research institute in one group with industrial institutes that are financed mainly from the sale of services for industry.

„In order to successfully implement the Polish Nuclear Power Program, we need scientific and research facilities with well-equipped laboratories and high-class specialists” – summed up the meeting, Minister of Climate and Environment, Anna Moskwa.

Source: Ministry of Climate and Environment