19 Feb (NucNet): Two Canadian companies have completed the pre-qualification stage of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ invitation process to site a small modular reactor at a CNL-managed site.
CNL, Canada’s foremost nuclear research organisation, said Terrestrial Energy and Starcore Nuclear have now been invited to enter a due diligence stage during which CNL will evaluate “with increased rigour” the technical and business merits of the proposed designs, assess the financial viability of the projects, and review the necessary national security and integrity requirements.
Terrestrial Energy is proposing to build a 195-MW integral molten salt reactor, a Generation-IV advanced SMR power plant.
Starcore Nuclear is proposing to build 14-MW high-temperature gas reactors at both the Whiteshell and Chalk River sites.
Several reactor developers have applied for the four-stage CNL evaluation, which could result in the construction of a demonstration SMR at one or more CNL campuses.
CNL said Global First Power and partners Ontario Power Generation and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation have progressed through the second stage of the invitation process, and have been invited to participate in a third stage which will involve “preliminary, non-exclusive discussions regarding land arrangements, project risk management, and contractual terms”.
The fourth and final stage, known as Project Execution, would include construction, testing and commissioning, operation and ultimately decommissioning of the SMR unit.
“It is important to note that all projects are subject to regulatory processes and requirements,” CNL said. “The licensing process is entirely independent of CNL’s invitation and evaluation stages.”
In 2017, CNL set the ambitious goal of siting an SMR on a CNL-managed site by 2026. It received 19 expressions of interest from technology developers interested in building a prototype or demonstration reactor at a CNL site.
Based in part on that response, CNL announced a staged invitation process for vendors.
