Overview

Photograph of a test involving a dummy in a plastic suit

There are three isotopes of hydrogen found in nature, the most abundant of which is hydrogen itself. The other two, deuterium and tritium, are also naturally occurring but are much rarer. Both deuterium and tritium must be managed carefully. Deuterium because it is very valuable and energy-intensive to produce, and tritium because it is radioactive and very mobile.

Tritium and deuterium are of particular interest to operators of CANDU stations as deuterium is used as a moderator (in the form of heavy water) and as a result of neutron interactions with heavy water, they produce tritium.

Interest in both tritium and deuterium is increasing because of their potential use as a source of fuel for fusion reactors. Tritium is also used in other applications such as self-powered light-emitting devices.

We offer a full range of services to support the management of hydrogen isotopes including purifying, processing, handling, storing, and transporting. In addition, we provide monitoring, analysis, accountancy, and dosimetry services and we advise on health risks.

Whether your challenge is protecting the environment from releases of tritium, managing your inventory of heavy water, producing tritium to fuel a fusion reactor, or developing processes to produce helium-3, we can help.

Why Us?

  • World Leading Facilities and Expertise

    CANDU reactors use deuterium as their moderator and produce quantities of tritium that require management. Our long-term involvement with CANDU has established us as world leaders in the field.

  • Full Scope Isotope Management

    Our full-service approach to hydrogen isotope management includes fundamental R&D, designing and producing specialized equipment, and supplying routinely used items such as PPE and storage containers.

  • Licensed Tritium Laboratory

    We have a dedicated facility licensed specifically for tritium handling, that allows us to perform lab-scale experimental work and enables us to develop solutions to your most challenging problems.

  • Supporting the Fusion Fuel Cycle

    Hydrogen isotopes fuel many fusion reactor concepts and their production and management will be key to their commercial operation. We are using our experience to advise on the fuel lifecyle and to design and build equipment to support it.