The federal government has announced a loan of up to $304-million to AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin Group) for the development of its proposed Monark reactor, marking major return to funding reactor development,.IMAGE COURTESY OF ATKINSRÉALIS
The federal government will finance half of the costs for modernizing Canada’s homegrown Candu nuclear power reactor, while continuing to fund proposed power plants featuring American-designed reactors.
The government announced a loan of up to $304-million to AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin Group) on Wednesday toward development of its proposed Monark reactor. It marks a major return to funding reactor development, an activity the government of then-prime minister Stephen Harper extricated itself from in 2011 by selling the reactor division of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to SNC-Lavalin for $15-million.
AtkinsRéalis announced the Monark in November, 2023, billing it as the latest evolution of the Candu, originally developed in the 1950s and 1960s. (There are 17 Candus operating domestically, and others abroad; plans for two new units in Romania were announced late last year.) Since then, it has vigorously lobbied the federal government to help fund the Monark’s design, which is to be completed by the end of 2026.
The company launched a campaign in February, 2024, dubbed “Canadians for Candu,” led by former prime minister Jean Chrétien and former Ontario premier Mike Harris. The campaign emphasized the economic benefits of building Canadian-designed reactors; major nuclear contractors signed on as “Candu ambassadors” during the past year.
AtkinsRéalis possesses considerable political bench strength. Last summer, it hired former energy ministers from Canada’s two nuclear-powered provinces: Ontario’s Todd Smith became its vice-president for marketing and business development, while New Brunswick’s Mike Holland became director of business development for North America.
Designing a reactor from scratch is a major undertaking that can cost more than US$1-billion, with no guarantee of a single order from utilities. But AtkinsRéalis executives characterize the Monark as an update of existing Candus, not a “first of a kind” reactor.
In a recent interview, Joe St. Julian, president of AtkinsRéalis’s nuclear division, said 85 per cent of the Monark’s components are already found in operating Candus. Its reactor core will be nearly identical to those found at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, built in the 1980s and early 1990s. (The Monark’s 1,000-megawatt capacity, larger than Darlington’s units, would be achieved through greater turbine efficiency.) Reactor fuel, shutdown systems and other elements of its design will be similar or identical to those in existing Candus.
But unlike Darlington’s four units, which are all housed in the same large building, each Monark would reside in its own separate containment – the reinforced structure that encloses a reactor.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the loan to AtkinsRéalis is a good deal for Canadians. Ottawa retains the Candu’s intellectual property rights, so it will receive royalties for every new one built. The loan, although on better terms than those available from the private sector, will ultimately be repaid. And with Ontario and Alberta signalling intent to build large new reactors, Ottawa prefers Candus because they consume natural uranium fuel, which can be produced domestically – a significant energy security benefit.
Yet on Wednesday, the government also announced it will provide Ontario Power Generation with an additional $55-million to support construction of BWRX-300 reactors at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Clarington, Ont. It committed an almost identical amount ($56-million) to SaskPower to fund predevelopment work for new reactors in Saskatchewan. (In 2022, SaskPower selected the BWRX-300 for potential deployment in the 2030s.)
The BWRX-300 is being designed by Wilmington, N.C.-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and would require enriched uranium fuel, which Canada cannot produce domestically.
As tensions rise, Canada to lean on U.S. for uranium enrichment
This funding for American-designed reactors arrives the same week U.S. President Donald Trump imposed across-the-board tariffs on Canadian goods imported into his country. Mr. Wilkinson said Canada’s options for obtaining enriched uranium include the U.S. and Russia. While Ottawa would prefer not to enrich on Canadian soil, it could develop that capability if necessary.
“We’re early into this conversation with the Americans,” he said.
“It would behoove us not to make rash moves while we are still working to get the tariffs taken off. But certainly, there are options in the future.”
Mr. Wilkinson added that the tariffs imposed this week must be eliminated if Canada and the U.S. are to continue collaborating on a wide range of matters, including nuclear projects.
“We’re unlikely to be spending an enormous amount of time collaborating with a party that is treating us like an adversary,” he said.
“My hope is that we will find a pathway through this.”
Also on Wednesday, Mr. Wilkinson announced $13-million in funding to Capital Power, an independent power producer based in Edmonton, to evaluate potential sites in Alberta for new reactors. Another company, Energy Alberta, will receive $8.4-million to explore building up to four Monarks in Peace River, Alta.
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