Nuclear reactors could be the next big Canadian export alongside maple syrup and movie stars named Ryan.
What happened: Montréal-based engineering firm AtkinsRéalis scored a joint contract to build two new reactors at Romania’s Cernavodă nuclear power plant using proprietary Candu nuclear technology. Their completion will mark the first new Candu reactors since 2007.
Why it matters: Last week, we wrote about how Canada could cash in on the world’s newfound love of nuclear power thanks to its uranium resources. Turns out, Canada has an illustrious history of making world-class nuclear reactors that could also see a revival.
- Candu reactor technology first saw widespread deployment in the 1970s and has had a successful track record in countries like Canada, Romania, Argentina, and China.
- AtkinsRéalis (then called SNC-Lavalin) became the licence holder for the tech in 2011. This year, it launched a campaign to raise government support for the made-in-Canada technology.
Bottom line: AtkinsRéalis projects the world will need 1,000 new nuclear reactors by 2050, and if Candu accounts for just 5% of them, that equals a $750 billion market. A study backed by the firm also found that building four reactors at home could generate $40.9 billion in GDP during construction alone.—QH