Rs 160-Crore Oxygen-18 Plant To Come Up At Ashwapuram; AEC Chairman To Lay Foundation Stone
In 2022, a pilot Oxygen-18 plant with a production capacity of 10 litres was set up at the same site.
Published : January 27, 2026 at 7:19 PM IST
Ashwapuram: A high-capacity Oxygen-18 production plant with an output of 100 kilograms is being established at a cost of Rs 160 crore in Ashwapuram mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district in Telangana. The facility will be linked to the existing Heavy Water Plant located at the mandal headquarters.
Earlier, in 2022, a pilot Oxygen-18 plant with a production capacity of 10 litres was set up at the same site at a cost of Rs 50 crore. With its commissioning, India became the sixth country in the world after China, Australia, the United States, Russia, and Israel to produce Oxygen-18.
Building on this achievement, a separate large-scale plant with a capacity of 100 kilograms is now being developed. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty is scheduled to visit Ashwapuram on January 31, 2026, to lay the foundation stone for the new facility.
Oxygen has three naturally occurring isotopes such as Oxygen-16, Oxygen-17, and Oxygen-18. Ordinary water contains about 2 per cent of the Oxygen-18 isotope, which is enriched to 95.5 per cent purity through advanced processing techniques.
Oxygen-18 is a critical tracer used in cancer detection and medical diagnostics. Its importance has been testified by recent research conducted in Mumbai and the United States, which revealed its significance in scientific and medical applications.
The market price of Oxygen-18 ranges between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 per gram. With the establishment of the 100-kg-capacity plant in Ashwapuram, India is expected not only to meet its domestic demand but also to export Oxygen-18 to other countries. This will strengthen the country’s position in the global nuclear and medical isotope market.
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