CHAIRMAN of Portland Holdings Limited Michael Lee-Chin has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Canadian Nuclear Laboratory (CNL) under which he will be promoting nuclear technology as the means to decarbonise electricity production across the world.

Lee-Chin, who signed the deal after one year of negotiation, said he was pursuing nuclear energy as a new business opportunity because it was the only way to decarbonise the grid and help countries meet their 2050 carbon net zero target. He said moving into the nuclear arena is part of his mantra to predict the future, plan on the prediction, and persevere on executing that plan.

“I want to get attached to the CNL, so I could go to every country in the world and say, ‘Look, you have a problem. The problem is you have a signed up to this carbon net zero by 2050. But how are you going to do it? You don’t know how to do it. Because you don’t have any nuclear experience whatsoever. But CNL has been developing this for 75 years, and CNL is an expert in small modular reactors (SMRs) and hydrogen as a fuel. CNL also has the expertise in doing the feasibility study, doing the design, build, and remediate nuclear waste.’ So it took me a year, but eventually we signed an MOU, unprecedented in the world,” Lee-Chin told the Jamaica Observer.

SMRs are nuclear plants which generate 300MW or less of electricity and are generally produced in a factory shipped to its location for installation. They are also scalable, meaning that several can be stacked together to produce the desired amount of electricity.

But the world has been moving away from nuclear power in the aftermath of a nuclear disaster which unfolded in Fukushima, Japan, following a major earthquake and tsunami. Some have since started to embrace the technology again since the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent oil and gas prices spiralling.

“You have to remember that every nuclear submarine and every aircraft carrier is an SMR. Right? And so, let’s address the boogeyman. In Fukushima not one person died; not one person. But every day people are getting sick from the carbon in the air, every day. So we have to put things in perspective,” he said.

He pointed out that nuclear technology now is much safer than it was even a decade ago.

“These reactors, they have passive safety procedures built in…so they’re more or less foolproof, right? So we have come a long way, in terms of safety. So safety should no longer be the concern. What we need to do is get the price down so that countries can get the benefit of industrialisation, scalability at a low price, so we can we can deliver energy at a good price.”

Armed with that information, the Portland Holdings chairman says the goal is now to approach countries to adopt the technology.

“They will start shipping SMRs by 2025, 2026. So it’s not as far away as we may think. So what we’re talking about here is just laying the groundwork for what is to come.”

He pointed out that companies, like GE Hitachi, have built SMRs and that two provinces in Canada have ordered the reactors.

Quizzed as to whether Jamaica is a target for SMRs, Lee-Chin replied: “Every country is a target, whether you are a large oil-producing nation, or Jamaica, there are demands for our services.”

“We are already working with countries,” Lee-Chin continued though he declined to say which, but acknowledged they are large countries.

Also in the works for Lee-Chin is cancer treatment.

“The modern way of treating cancer is going to be what is referred to as TRT (targeted radionuclide therapy), which is precision oncology, which is treating cancer right at the cellular level, zapping already infected cells and leaving neighbouring cells alone,” Lee-Chin continued.

He said he has invested in the German-based ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE.

Based on the company’s website it is a privately owned biotechnology and radio pharma, pharmaceutical group of companies dedicated to the development, production, and global supply of targeted diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, and radio isotopes for use in cancer treatment.

“We are one of the largest shareholders of that company. So you have a Jamaican guy who is on the board of a company out of Germany that is at the epicentre of this therapy that is disrupting chemotherapy, and traditional external beam radiation.”

Lee-Chin posited that the technology used to treat cancer is over 80 years old, and that the entity he has invested in will target cancer treatment without the unwanted side effects which he labelled “brutal”. He said the technology will allow oncologists to see exactly where the cancer is.

“The motto there is: If we can see it we can treat it. Now ITM is what they call industry centrality. Meaning it is the only company in the world that has the manufacturing and distribution capability [for this way of treating cancer]…

“Because we have a quasi monopoly on the production and distribution of the treatment, any company that wants to get into this modality of treating cancer they have to buy it from us. So Novartis, as an example… just had a prostate cancer drug called pluvicto which is approved by the FDA. They get 100 per cent of their supply from ITM…

“The demand is there for clean energy and for more medical radioisotopes to treat cancer. I need to make sure I have access to the supply. So for the last year I’ve been in discussions with CNL, which is a unique entity in the world,” he concluded.