Canada's newly unveiled nuclear energy strategy positions the country's largest players — Cameco Corp. and AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. — to benefit from the deployment of large reactors both domestically and globally, according to Grant Isaac, president and chief operating officer of uranium mining giant Cameco.
Federal Strategy Targets 10 New Large Reactors in Canada
The federal government signaled its willingness to invest in research and development, finance new reactors, and support industry to become what it calls a “global supplier and exporter of choice.” The strategy aims to build up to 10 new large-scale reactors in Canada and four more reactors abroad over the next 15 years.
“The minister articulates a vision of the Canadian nuclear industry, not just being a domestic powerhouse, but also a global powerhouse,” Isaac said. He emphasized that diversification is necessary because Canada cannot regard itself as a global energy superpower if it stays devoted to supporting only CANDU technology, which makes up less than 10 per cent of global market share.
Leveraging CANDU and Expanding Beyond
The federal government is looking to leverage strengths, including high-grade uranium deposits mined in northern Saskatchewan. The strategy also leans on made-in-Canada reactor technology known as CANDU, a federally owned design licensed to Montréal engineering firm AtkinsRéalis.
However, the government sees an opportunity to expand outside of the Canada-designed technology. Canada wants to be involved in the non-CANDU supply chain globally, in order to land at least five large or small modular reactors by 2040, the federal government stated as a key objective.
“We are taking action to ensure we have a coordinated, strategic approach to diversifying nuclear industry exports,” Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson said in a prepared release.
Cameco’s Position and the AP1000 Opportunity
Cameco, the Saskatoon-headquartered uranium mining and milling company, is vertically integrated, providing fuel to power all types of nuclear reactors. The company also jointly owns Westinghouse Electric Co., which makes a pressurized water reactor known as the AP1000, along with partner Brookfield Asset Management.
“Our ambition should be to deploy AP1000 reactors in Canada as aggressively as possible on a fleet scale to build up the Canadian supply chain around this technology, which is the most sought-after technology globally,” Isaac said in an interview. The AP1000 uses pressurized water and requires enriched uranium; nearly 70 per cent of reactors around the world are in this design category.
Arthur Situm, the Canada research chair in small modular reactor safety and licensing, noted that while CANDU makes up a sliver of the market, some countries favour it for ease of buying unenriched uranium or for nuclear applications in medical imaging and treatment.
Domestic and Global Energy Diplomacy
Isaac described the strategy as both a domestic energy security strategy and a global energy diplomacy strategy. Cameco supports expanding beyond CANDU, given its stake in Westinghouse, which offers a competing system.
The strategy positions Canada to become a global supplier and exporter of choice, with Cameco and AtkinsRéalis poised to benefit from the deployment of large reactors at home and abroad.
