POWER April 2021 - 6

Chalk River, GE Hitachi Part of
Canada's Nuclear Focus
The nuclear power industry is brimming
with technological innovation, particularly
when it comes to small reactors
that can provide power for several different
applications. This is especially true
in Canada, where a number of groups
are working to develop and deploy small
modular reactors (SMRs) and other nuclear
technologies that could be safer
and more cost-effective for users.
Canada late last year released its
Small Modular Reactor Roadmap, with
input from several groups, along with
industry and indigenous partners, with
an action plan outlining the country's
next steps to leverage nuclear energy in
the fight against climate change. " The
future of nuclear is tied to dealing with
climate change, and taking on this massive
challenge we have of decarbonizing
economies around the world, " said John
Gorman, president and CEO of the Canadian
Nuclear Association (CNA), and
former president and CEO of the Canadian
Solar Industries Association, in an
interview with POWER. " I spent two decades
working in the renewable energy
world, and it's dawning on people that
we don't have another 20 years to make
a serious dent in decarbonizing energy
grids. There is really only one solution
to complement renewables, and that's
nuclear. Nuclear power is indispensable. "
Energy majors are making their presence
felt. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
(GEH) in February announced the formation
of GEH SMR Technologies Canada
Ltd., a company that will support deployment
of the group's BWRX-300 SMR
in Canada. GEH officials have said they
want to bring a grid-scale SMR to market
by 2028.
" GE has been a pioneer in Canada's
commercial nuclear energy industry
since the 1950s and was part of a consortium
that developed the country's
first nuclear plant, the Nuclear Power
Demonstration unit in 1962, " said Jon
Ball, executive vice president of Nuclear
Products for GEH, in a news release.
" With the establishment of our Canadian
SMR business we look forward to
building on this legacy and bringing the
world's first grid-scale SMR to Canada,
positioning Ontario as a hub for SMR
technology. "
The BWRX-300 is a 300-MWe water6
1.
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' Chalk River site, located in Deep River, Ontario, on the Ottawa
River, is home to the Chalk River project, which involves a demonstration of a micro modular
reactor. Chalk River is a joint venture between Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. and Ontario Power
Generation. Courtesy: CNW Group/Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
cooled, natural circulation SMR with
passive safety systems that leverages
the design and licensing basis of GEH's
ESBWR, or Economic Simplified Boiling
Water Reactor, which already is certified
by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
in the U.S. GEH has said that
through " dramatic and innovative design
simplification, GEH projects the
BWRX-300 will require significantly less
capital cost per MW when compared to
other SMR designs. "
Much of the work in Canada has focused
on the Chalk River project, an
installation being developed by Seattle,
Washington-based Ultra Safe Nuclear
Corp. (USNC) and Ontario Power Generation
(OPG) at Chalk River Laboratories,
a site managed by Canadian
Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) in Deep
River, Ontario (Figure 1). Chalk River is
a joint venture (JV) between USNC and
OPG-the JV is known as Global First
Power Limited Partnership, and owned
equally by OPG and USNC-Power, the
Canadian subsidiary of USNC-to build,
own, and operate the proposed micro
modular reactor (MMR).
USNC has designed a 5-MWe (15MWth)
MMR (Figure 2), which is a novel
nuclear energy system for multipurpose
applications, including electrical generation
and process heat. USNC has said the
MMR's high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor
(HTGR) design is able to operate
for 20 years without refueling. USNC is
www.powermag.com
looking to supply power to remote mines
and communities in northern Canada.
" Our company is specifically looking
at remote and off-grid installations, " said
Ken Darlington, vice president of corporate
development with USNC, in an
interview with POWER. Darlington said
the company wants to provide a " nuclear
energy solution " to mining companies,
which have often powered their sites
with diesel and propane fuel.
" It's fully aligned with Canada's SMR
Action Plan, " said Darlington. " It will be a
springboard for the SMR market, initially
here in Canada, and eventually in other
countries seeking to reduce their carbon
footprint. Everyone wants to know,
when can I get one, and how much is it
going to cost? "
Darlington said Chalk River is in the
third phase of a four-stage process set
forth by CNL; the final stage is the SMR
project execution. " The project hosting
agreement has recently been signed
with CNL, " said Darlington. " We're entering
the second stage of vendor design
review with the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission. Chalk River is a commercial
demonstration, and once it's approved,
that's the standard design that will lead
to more rapid commercial deployments. "
John Chrobak, president and CEO
of EACL Consulting Services, which is
providing advisory work for USNC, told
POWER the Chalk River MMR " uses innovative
features that set it apart from
POWER | April 2021

http://www.powermag.com

POWER April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER April 2021