# Molybdenum-99 Program (81.009)

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/programs/81-009-molybdenum-99-program/  
Publisher: Well Told Grants. Data: USAspending.gov and Grants.gov, updated November 7, 2026.

Molybdenum-99 Program is run by Department of Energy. From fiscal 2021 to 2025 it awarded $98.9 million in 4 grants, about $24.7 million per award.

## Objectives

In 2012, Congress passed the American Medical Isotopes Production Act (AMIPA), which directed the Department of Energy to establish a technology-neutral program to support the establishment of domestic supplies of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) without the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) has implemented this by competitively awarding 50%/50% cost-shared cooperative agreements to commercial entities and providing funds to the DOE National Laboratories to support development of non-HEU Mo-99 production technologies. Mo-99 is a critical radioisotope whose decay byproduct technetium-99m (Tc-99m), is used in over 40,000 nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures performed daily in the United States. Its primary uses include diagnosing heart disease and cancer, as well as studying organ structure and function. The isotope’s short half-life and excellent binding properties make it uniquely suited for medical procedures. However, due to its short half-life it must be produced continuously to meet the medical community’s requirements. The United States does not currently have a domestic production capability for Mo-99 sufficient to meet the needs of the U.S. healthcare community, currently estimated at 4,500 6-day curies per week. The establishment of reliable, commercial, non-HEU-based Mo-99 production in the United States complements the long-standing U.S. policy to minimize and eliminate the use of proliferation-sensitive HEU in civilian applications in order to prevent the potential theft of this material for malevolent use. The United States is at the nexus of two related priorities: the need to ensure a reliable, robust Mo-99 supply for U.S. patient care, and discouraging the use of proliferation-sensitive HEU in civilian applications. NNSA will issue Cooperative Agreements with the purpose of providing additional federal funding to accelerate commercial Mo-99 projects’ time to market so that industry and government can fulfill these two critical priorities and decrease the U.S. medical community’s reliance on foreign supplies of Mo-99.

## Funding by fiscal year

| Year | Amount | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $37.0 million | 2 |
| 2022 | $62.0 million | 3 |
| 2023 | $0 | 0 |
| 2024 | -$142,531 | 1 |
| 2025 | $0 | 0 |

## Largest recipients

| Recipient | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Shine Technologies, LLC | Wisconsin | $74.1 million |
| Northstar Medical Technologies, LLC | Wisconsin | $21.5 million |
| Niowave, Inc. | Michigan | $3.3 million |