Canada’s national nuclear laboratory discusses program to build and test Canada’s first SMR reactor during seminar at PDAC 2020

Toronto, ON – March 02, 2020 – Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, advanced its efforts to enable clean energy options for Canada’s mining sector by bringing together potential end users in the mining industry with developers of  small modular reactors (SMR). Held on the margins of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) 2020 mineral exploration and mining conference in Toronto, the seminar was organized by CNL as a forum to discuss the benefits and opportunities that this advanced reactor technology could present to Canada’s mining community.

The seminar featured senior executives, business leaders, public officials, academia, utilities, technology developers, and industry associations. In addition to an examination of the economic feasibility of SMRs to power mining operations, seminar participants discussed the many SMR technologies under development, the wide range of applications, and the path towards the successful deployment of SMRs in Canada.

“CNL has established an ambitious program to enable the construction, testing, licensing and deployment of this next-generation nuclear technology here in Canada at a CNL managed site,” commented Mark Lesinski, CNL’s President and CEO. “To make this vision a reality, CNL is working to build a broad coalition of leaders from the nuclear industry and others, such as mining, who stand to benefit from advances in this clean energy technology. This seminar is one more engagement in this ongoing conversation, and I’d like to thank everyone who helped make the event such an engaging and informative event.”

CNL has identified SMRs as one of eight strategic initiatives the company is pursuing as part of its Long-Term Strategy, with the goal of siting an SMR before 2030. The company is working to demonstrate the commercial viability of SMRs and has positioned itself as a global leader in SMR prototype testing and technology development support. As part of the program, CNL issued an invitation in 2018 to SMR developers to apply to site an SMR demonstration reactor at a CNL-managed site. At present, there are four proponents engaged in various states of the invitation process.

“Bringing this technology to Canada is an enormous opportunity and CNL is offering support in testing, technological and economic feasibility assessments, manufacturing, waste management, and regulatory requirements,” commented Keyes Niemer, CNL’s Project Manager of SMR Development. “We’ve organized this seminar with leaders who can help identify opportunities and with experts who can understand and solve the challenges, so we can continue the momentum we’ve built in pursuit of this clean energy technology.”

For more information on CNL, including the company’s small modular reactor program, please visit www.cnl.ca/smr.

About CNL 

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a world leader in nuclear science and technology offering unique capabilities and solutions across a wide range of industries. Actively involved with industry-driven research and development in nuclear, transportation, clean technology, energy, defence, security and life sciences, we provide solutions to keep these sectors competitive internationally.

With ongoing investments in new facilities and a focused mandate, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is well positioned for the future. A new performance standard reinforced with a strong safety culture underscores every activity.

For more information on the complete range of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories services, please visit www.cnl.ca or contact [email protected].

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Contact:
Patrick Quinn
Director, Corporate Communications
CNL, 1-866-886-2325