Company targeting operation by early 2030s for ‘first marine, transportable reactor in G7’
Canada’s Prodigy Clean Energy has signed an agreement with Pabineau First Nation and Eel River Bar First Nation to begin an indigenous-led nuclear new build proposal in Belledune, New Brunswick.
The partners plan to deploy an up to 50 MWe full-scale Prodigy Transportable Nuclear Power Plant (TNPP) within the traditional territory of the Pabineau and Eel River Bar First Nations.
The Prodigy TNPP Pilot Project will be First Nations-owned and validate plant logistics and operational requirements, creating the commercial blueprint to mass deploy a TNPP fleet across Canada’s North and global export markets.
Prodigy said the project targeting in-service operation by the early 2030s.
It said the project would be the first marine, transportable reactor in the Group of Seven (G7) economies of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.
The company said it aims to package, transport and deploy any type of reactor that would allow end-users to customise facilities by gross power output and energy type to be used on land or water.
The government of New Brunswick has signed a letter of intent to offtake the electricity generated from the plant, and aims to advance the project at a federal level under Canada’s major projects office as a nationally transformative infrastructure initiative.
Nuclear energy company BWXT and its subsidiary Kinectrics will serve as collaborators on the project to support licensing and supply chain development.
“The successful integration of microreactors and TNPPs into Canada's Northern and Arctic energy portfolio begins with demonstrating a commercially operating facility south of 60 [degrees latitude] in an established nuclear jurisdiction,” said Mathias Trojer, chief executive officer of Prodigy Clean Energy.
Plans For Site And Technology Selection
Prodigy aims to move the project forward with site selection and selection of a reactor technology ready for deployment by 2032, with the goal of achieving a final investment decision within 18 months.
Prodigy said it plans to build an electricity generation facility at Belledune, which would have an operations centre to service and train operators.
The project was welcomed by the First Nation communities that will own the reactors.
“By integrating this Canadian clean baseload energy technology with indigenous ownership and economic participation, this initiative establishes a replicable model to deploy transportable nuclear power infrastructure across Canada, especially in Northern and Arctic regions where energy sovereignty is vital to community prosperity and economic reconciliation,” said Terry Richardson, chief of the Pabineau First Nation.
Canada operates 17 commercial reactors, all Canadian-designed Candu units, in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick, which provide around 13% of the country’s electricity.
However, the country recently announced a strategy to build a further 10 large-scale reactors, with two expected to be under construction by 2035.
Canada is also fast advancing on plans to install small modular reactors (SMRs), with Ontario Power Generation currently building the first unit of the Darlington BWRX-300, as part of a four-unit site.
