TerraPower Isotopes, a nuclear science company founded by Bill Gates, plans to build a $450 million manufacturing facility in South Philadelphia at the Bellwether District, the redeveloped site of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery. The Washington-based company will lease a custom 250,000-square-foot building that will serve as its first East Coast property and produce rare radioactive isotopes used in cancer treatments.
City officials say the project will create 225 full-time jobs within three years and about 500 temporary construction jobs during the building phase. Construction of the facility is expected to begin this spring, and operations are scheduled to start in 2029. The development takes place on land that many residents still associate with the 2019 refinery explosion and fire that shook surrounding neighborhoods.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania committed $10 million in grants to secure the project after TerraPower evaluated more than 350 potential sites across the United States. The state package includes $7 million through the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites program and $3 million through Pennsylvania First grants. TerraPower may also apply for the state’s Manufacturing Tax Credit and the Qualified Manufacturing and Innovation Reinvestment Deduction program. Additional tax incentives come from the property’s designation as a Keystone Opportunity Zone through 2043.
Justin Backover, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, said the incentives could eliminate most of TerraPower’s state and local taxes. The company will still pay the city wage tax. Under the terms of the grants, TerraPower must create 225 jobs within three years and maintain those positions for at least two years.
Governor Josh Shapiro announced the investment when the project was revealed. “Pennsylvania is competing again and winning major deals,” he said.
Philadelphia officials said the city’s life sciences and research sector helped attract TerraPower. Karen Fegely, Philadelphia’s commerce director, described the project as “a really big deal!” She said the company selected Philadelphia after reviewing locations nationwide because of the concentration of research, science, and life sciences activity in the region. “They chose to locate here in Philadelphia because we have so much of this great research and science and life sciences industry here in Philadelphia,” Fegely said.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker called the development a “major win for Philadelphia.” In a statement, she said the investment would create hundreds of good-paying jobs while strengthening the city’s advanced manufacturing and life sciences sectors. “Exciting things are coming to South Philly, and we are just getting started,” Parker said.
Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, whose district includes the Bellwether site, said the project will create permanent jobs and opportunities for building trades workers while placing Philadelphia at the forefront of innovation.
The facility will produce actinium-225, a rare radioactive isotope used in targeted alpha therapy. This treatment method directs precise radiation at cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy tissue. TerraPower plans to manufacture radioisotope generators that extract actinium-225 and supply it to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing targeted cancer therapies.
Actinium-225 is extremely scarce. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories reports that annual global production of the isotope is less than a grain of sand. The isotope is currently being tested as a cancer treatment through clinical trials.
Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes, said demand for the isotope continues to grow. “This new facility is a testament to the demand for actinium-225 as part of the growing industry which is transforming how cancer is treated,” Claunch said.
The company has said the plant will handle radioactive materials under strict safety conditions. A TerraPower spokesperson explained that the materials will be processed in controlled environments by trained professionals with oversight from regulatory agencies. “Facilities are specifically designed with shielding, monitoring systems, and safety protocols to protect workers, the public, and the environment,” the spokesperson said. The company added that the amounts of radioactive material used are extremely small, carefully measured, and strictly tracked.
The Bellwether District spans 1,300 acres and is being redeveloped by HRP Group, which acquired the property in 2020. The site was formerly home to the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery. Cleanup and remediation work has taken place under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
TerraPower will operate within the Bellwether District’s Innovation Campus, an area planned for life sciences companies. HRP Group executive vice president of corporate affairs Amelia Chassé Alcivar said during a virtual community meeting that construction will begin this spring and the facility will begin operating in 2029.
TerraPower is the second company to commit to the redevelopment site. In December, canned beverage manufacturer DrinkPAK announced a $195 million project to build a 1.4 million-square-foot facility near 26th Street and Penrose Avenue. Two additional warehouses have already been constructed on the property.
HRP Group plans to build more than a dozen warehouses and industrial buildings across the site, with projections of more than 19,000 full-time jobs once the redevelopment is completed. Pennsylvania has also invested $40 million in transportation infrastructure improvements around the Bellwether District to connect the site with surrounding roads.
For residents who lived near the refinery, the memory of the 2019 explosion remains vivid. Shawmar Pitts of Philly Thrive, an environmental justice organization that spent years protesting the refinery, recalled the moment it happened. “It just blew up!” Pitts said. “That day was like one of those days you’ve always dreaded, and then you say, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s happening.’”
Philly Thrive had long advocated for businesses other than a refinery to operate at the site. Pitts said the organization supports redevelopment that benefits nearby communities and wants those commitments written into an agreement. “We want a community benefits agreement,” he said. The group also continues to push for oversight of environmental safety as redevelopment continues.
City officials say the TerraPower Isotopes project will bring new industry to the former refinery property while adding jobs and expanding the city’s life sciences sector. Karen Fegely said the redevelopment represents an important opportunity for Philadelphia. “It’s really exciting to see this new life at Bellwether District,” she said. “It’s a really important time and a really important opportunity for Philadelphia.”