Small modular reactors can help Canada meet its sustainability goals, says one expert
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SMRs could enable Canada to meet net zero emissions targets while leveraging nuclear expertise for a growing global market, says CNA President John Gorman
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Point LePreau Nuclear Power Plant in New Brunswick. The province is currently examining the prospects for two new Candu reactors that would make them the largest nuclear province in Canada after Ontario. Photo by Photo by Shaun Polzer, Calgary Herald
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Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a core technology that is critical to achieving Canada’s net zero emissions target by 2050, says the President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA).
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In an interview with the National Post, John Gorman said that SMRs are smaller, cheaper, and more scalable than traditional nuclear reactors. Where traditional reactors are large infrastructure projects, SMRs can be mass-produced and assembled elsewhere, allowing for drastic cost reductions, Gorman said. The reactors have advanced safety and automation features that enable them to operate without human intervention.
A recent study by the association concluded that small reactors could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada’s heavy industry sectors by 216 megatons between 2035 and 2050, the equivalent of reducing emissions from the oil and gas sector in Canada for one year.
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“Our sustainability goals really have everything to do with meeting our greenhouse gas targets, but also with the types of products we make,” said Gorman. “And whether this product is competitive on the international market, not only from a cost perspective, but also from the perspective of CO2 intensity.”
On November 19, 2020, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, introduced Canada’s Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in the House of Commons. The law legally binds the government to a process to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
CNA’s study showed that using SMRs in Canada’s heavy industry could cut costs associated with achieving net zero emissions by more than five percent, while adding up to $ 5 billion to annual GDP by 2050 could.
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“People just don’t know how big the challenge is that we face from a power generation perspective,” Gorman said.
In Canada, 80 percent of our energy production isn’t emitted, Gorman said, but we need to clean up the last 20 percent. But Canada must also double or even triple power generation, said Gorman. The Canadian government said that by 2050, electricity generation in all economic sectors of Canada will need to produce two to three times more non-emitting energy than it currently does.
“So how can you produce two to three times as much electricity as we have right now without bringing all the tools you can?” Said Gorman.
SMRs can be combined with renewable energy technologies like wind and solar power, Gorman said. Where wind and solar technologies rely on the sun or wind, Gorman says SMRs could provide support as other renewable energies go through production cycles.
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In Canada and abroad, SMR implementation is gaining traction.
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced that it plans to integrate an SMR at the Darlington site as early as 2028, depending on regulatory approvals and licenses.
“We recently announced our goal of building an SMR at our licensed Darlington site by 2028 to cement the role of OPG and Ontario as world leaders in this technology and in turn to create job opportunities and economic growth,” said Ken Hartwick, president and CEO of OPG in a press release.
In November 2018, the Canadian government published its SMR roadmap. The Roadmap is a ten-month statewide study of SMRs that was developed in response to markets looking for smaller, simpler, and cheaper forms of nuclear power. It outlined the next steps to further develop the technology in Canada. It also states that Canada has a single market with great potential and opportunities to lead the industry.
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The World Nuclear Association announced that OPG announced in October 2020 that it would be advancing design work with three developers of grid-scale SMRs to remotely meet energy needs. In November 2020, ARC Canada, a clean energy technology company, helped New Brunswick Power and Moltex Energy to set up an SMR supplier cluster at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, a nuclear power plant about 40 kilometers southwest of Saint John. Note: In March 2021, the Canadian government announced a $ 56 million grant.
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“But they (SMRs) are here now, way behind the drawing board and in the licensing process with the regulator here in Canada,” Gorman said. “We have 12 different technologies that are currently being reviewed and licensed, some of them in the final stages.”
Outside Canada, Gorman said SMR technology is being developed unilaterally in China and Russia, with the US and UK “very close behind”.
According to the World Nuclear Association, China has the most advanced SMR project that is starting the construction of a 210 MWe high temperature gas cooled reactor pebble bed module consisting of two 250 megawatt high temperature thermal (MWt) gas cooled reactors (HTR). China is also developing small district heating reactors with capacities of 100-200 MWt. According to the World Nuclear Association, SMR research and development is very active in China, with competition taking place between companies and innovation shaping the region.
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With the global development of SMR technology, Gorman said Canada needs to build on its nuclear advantage. Gorman said that while Canada is a small country, it has expertise in nuclear technology, with more than 60 years of experience and innovation in the safe and responsible management of nuclear facilities.
Gorman said an example of this can be seen in Canada’s CANDU technology. The CNA states that CANDU reactors are heavy water reactors developed by Canadian scientists and engineers. The Canadian government states that there are 18 CANDU reactors in Ontario, one in New Brunswick and another 10 outside the country.
Canada exports its CANDU technology to seven other nations, Gorman said, and Canada is widely recognized as a world leader in nuclear technology. If Canada continues to lead the way in SMRs, Gorman says Canada can leverage new and existing technologies to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals while meeting growing global market demand for SMRs.
According to Natural Resources Canada, the market for SMR technology is expected to reach $ 150-300 billion by 2040.
“I think Canada now has a choice, namely to use this know-how and our first mover advantage here to develop new domestic technologies and benefit economically from them,” said Gorman.
“Or will we end up buying this technology from the US and UK, which I think would be a real shame.”
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