Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd says that, working with partners, it will be ready to present a plan for a new research reactor by 2029.
There’s no guarantee, however, that a new reactor will be built at Chalk River, or even be managed by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
In its latest five-year corporate plan summary, posted last week on the AECL website, the company says it has “already conducted exploratory analysis which confirmed that there is a case for consideration of a research reactor.”
Factors driving the case include Canada’s “existing reliance on foreign reactors” since the shutdown of the National Research Universal reactor (NRU) at Chalk River in 2018, “the high cost and complicated logistics of doing so, potential for isotope production, and the related national security and sovereignty considerations associated with this dependency on foreign research facilities.”
AECL says that research reactors have applications “beyond nuclear energy.”
“For example, a domestic research reactor could also enable neutron beam materials research, an area that has significantly improved scientific understanding in condensed matter physics and chemistry, nanotechnology, polymer science, life science, sustainable energy research, sensors and smart materials, biotechnology, engineering and archaeology.”
In addition, the company says, a research reactor could “enhance Canada’s capacity in isotope research and science.”
“On the skilled workforce side, research reactors are crucial for developing the next generation of nuclear operators, scientists and technologists.
“From engineering, to agriculture, and from medicine to education, the case for a new research reactor is coming together”…
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