Canada’s national nuclear laboratories announces RFEOI to make proven,
Canadian SMR technologies accessible to reactor development community
CHALK RIVER, Ontario, Jan. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Canada’s nuclear Crown corporation, and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology laboratory, are pleased to announce that they have issued a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEOI) to better understand market interest in licensing AECL’s SLOWPOKE and Nuclear Battery reactor technologies for commercialization opportunities. The RFEOI invites technology developers and other interested stakeholders to submit their insights and feedback about the innovative reactor designs and technologies, which collectively have broad applications that include electricity generation, district heating, isotope production and physics research.
AECL’s SLOWPOKE technology is a family of low pressure, pool-type reactors that includes the SLOWPOKE-2, which is a small, simple, inexpensive and inherently safe reactor design that has years of operations experience, and which has been successfully licensed and operated safely in Canada for decades. While having never advanced to construction, the Nuclear Battery technology is a solid-state micro-reactor concept that would be able to produce a combination of electricity (up to 600 kWe) and heat (up to 2400 kWth at ~400°C) for up to 15 years without refuelling, and which could also survive all postulated accident scenarios without human intervention.
Organizations
“Through our program of work, including the small modular reactor (SMR) siting program and Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative (CNRI), CNL has leveraged its resources to help develop and deploy the next generation of nuclear reactors here in Canada,” commented Lou Riccoboni, CNL’s Vice-President of Corporate Affairs and Business Development. “With that goal in mind, we see real opportunity and value in AECL’s SLOWPOKE and Nuclear Battery designs, which have tremendous potential to help combat climate change, and to advance research in physics and health sciences. This RFEOI process allows us to engage technologies developers to determine whether there is commercial interest in exploiting these innovative designs, which would help advance these important causes, while making the most of AECL’s Intellectual Property on behalf of Canadian taxpayers.”
Among the many appeals of the SLOWPOKE family of reactors is the ‘safe by physics’ characteristics of the design, which simplify operations and licensing, and allow unattended operation for up to 24 hours. These reactors have been utilized safely for approximately five decades in Canada and Jamaica, on university campuses and government installations, for applications that include neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography, and education. The success of small SLOWPOKE research reactors has also motivated exploration of the potential for larger versions of the concept, which could be used for district heating. This initiative began with the SLOWPOKE Demonstration Reactor (SDR), a 2 MWth test reactor built at AECL’s Whiteshell Laboratories near Pinawa, Manitoba. The SDR first went critical in 1987 and underwent various experiments to confirm reactor physics behaviour, operating characteristics, and shutdown system performance.
Largely envisioned for electricity or industrial heat processes, the AECL Nuclear Battery is a ‘solid-state’, graphite moderated heat-pipe-cooled micro-reactor (600 kWe / 2400 kWth) concept that was developed and advanced by AECL in the 1980s and 90s. A combination of design features that include accident-tolerant fuel, a passive cooling system, a large thermal reservoir, and negative temperature feedbacks render the technology as inherently safe. The AECL Nuclear Battery is also predicted to survive all postulated accident scenarios without human intervention, and is appropriate for off-grid applications, with the potential to provide a combination of electricity and heat (at ~400°C) for approximately 15 years, without refuelling.
With initial research suggesting that both reactors may have broad appeal within the international technology development community, AECL and CNL are now interested in learning more about market interest in these technologies, including reactor design, engineering and sales, as well as end-use applications, such as district heating, electrical generation, isotope production and neutron activation analysis.
The RFEOI can be found exclusively on the Government of Canada’s MERX™ system, which contains high-level background information on the SLOWPOKE and the Nuclear Battery reactor families. All questions, answers and clarifications can only be submitted and received through this platform. Participants are required to submit their Notice of Intent to Participate by January 31, 2025, and CNL will also be hosting an optional workshop and tour for registered participants on February 19, 2025 at the Chalk River Laboratories campus. Final RFEOI responses will be due on March 12, 2025.
For more information on AECL, including its programs to drive nuclear opportunity in Canada, please visit www.aecl.ca. Additional information on CNL and its clean energy program can be found at www.cnl.ca.
About CNL
As Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology laboratory, and working under the direction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), CNL is a world leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies, and contributing to the health of Canadians.
By leveraging the assets owned by AECL, CNL also serves as the nexus between government, the nuclear industry, the broader private sector and the academic community. CNL works in collaboration with these sectors to advance innovative Canadian products and services towards real-world use, including carbon-free energy, cancer treatments and other therapies, non-proliferation technologies and waste management solutions.
To learn more about CNL, please visit www.cnl.ca.
About AECL
AECL is a federal Crown corporation with a mandate to drive nuclear opportunities for Canada. AECL enables nuclear science and technology, owns the Chalk River Laboratories and other sites, and manages the Government of Canada’s radioactive waste responsibilities. It oversees and evaluates CNL’s work through contracts.
In business since 1952, AECL designed and developed the fleet of CANDU nuclear reactors that serve Canada and five other countries. It also delivered more than one billion isotopes worldwide to detect and treat cancer. Today it delivers value for Canadians through supporting 14 federal departments and agencies, as well as the global nuclear industry.
For more information on AECL, visit www.aecl.ca.
AECL Contact:
Jeremy Latta
Director, Communications and Government Reporting
communications@aecl.ca
CNL Contact:
Philip Kompass
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325
media@cnl.ca...
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