What to know about Bill Gates’ nuclear science company planned for the former South Philadelphia refinery site

Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! Ask us a question or send us a story idea you think we should cover.

A second company has announced plans to locate at The Bellwether District, the massive former oil refinery site in South Philadelphia.

TerraPower Isotopes, a division of a nuclear science company founded by Bill Gates, plans to invest $450 million and lease a 250,000-square-foot custom facility at the site.

The company will manufacture actinium-225, a rare, radioactive isotope that TerraPower plans to sell to other companies working to develop targeted cancer treatments.

The facility will create 225 full-time jobs, in addition to around 500 temporary construction jobs, according to TerraPower Isotopes.

Nuclear science to join drink manufacturing at the former refinery site

TerraPower’s new manufacturing facility will be part of The Bellwether District’s Innovation Campus, where developer HRP Group plans to attract and cater to life sciences companies. Construction of the TerraPower building will start this spring, and the facility will begin operating by 2029, said Amelia Chassé Alcivar, executive vice president of corporate affairs at HRP Group, during a virtual community meeting Tuesday evening.

Late last year, canned drink manufacturer DrinkPAK announced plans to invest $195 million and lease a custom 1.4 million-square-foot building at The Bellwether District’s Industrial Campus. Two other warehouses have been built at the site.

The isotope TerraPower will manufacture is being tested as a cancer treatment through clinical trials.

While TerraPower plans to handle radioactive materials at the site, the facility will pose no health risks to nearby residents, according to the company.

“The radioactive materials are handled in highly controlled environments by trained professionals, with oversight from several regulatory bodies,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Facilities are specifically designed with shielding, monitoring systems, and safety protocols to protect workers, the public, and the environment. The amounts of radioactive material involved are extremely small, carefully measured, and strictly tracked.”

TerraPower will receive $10 million in state grants

The state offered the company a $7 million Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites grant and a $3 million Pennsylvania First grant to locate at the former refinery site.

TerraPower will also be eligible to apply for Pennsylvania’s Manufacturing Tax Credit and Qualified Manufacturing and Innovation Reinvestment Deduction program, as well as tax incentives related to its location in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, according to an announcement from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.

These tax breaks could eliminate most of TerraPower’s state and local taxes, said Justin Backover, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The company will still be responsible for paying the city wage tax, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Under the terms of the state grants, TerraPower must create the 225 jobs within three years and maintain them for at least two years, Backover said.