Ottawa: Global First Power Ltd. (GFP), Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation™ (USNC) and Ontario Power Generation announced the formation June 9 of a joint venture, the Global First Power Limited Partnership, to build, own, and operate a proposed Micro Modular Reactor (MMR™) Project at the Chalk River Laboratories site. The joint venture is owned equally by OPG and USNC-Power, the Canadian subsidiary of USNC, and is based on the project initiated in 2019 by GFP.
Headquartered in Ottawa, GFP will act on behalf of the Limited Partnership to oversee the proposed MMR Project and provide project development, licensing, construction and operation of the commercial demonstration reactor at Chalk River. It will serve as a model for potential future MMR projects across Canada, to provide safe and sustainable low-carbon power and heat to industries, such as mining, and remote communities.
GFP, USNC and OPG’s collaboration on the Chalk River Project led to the joint-ownership arrangement and creation of the Limited Partnership. The partnership describes the technology as a viable alternative to diesel and other fossil fuels.
GFP Chair Ken Petrunik
“GFP represents the strong partnership between two companies, OPG and Ultra Safe Nuclear, combining their respective experience and capabilities to make the Micro Modular Reactor technology a leader in safe nuclear energy,” said newly appointed GFP Board Chair Ken Petrunik. “This will position Canada as a leader in producing off-grid energy for localized communities and industries in Canada and internationally.”
The MMR project is in the third stage of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' (CNL) four-stage process to site a demonstration small modular reactor (SMR) at Chalk River Laboratories, a site owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and operated by CNL. The 15 megawatt thermal (approximately 5 MW electrical) project is currently undergoing an environmental assessment.
"While there are many small reactor companies boasting about the progress they're making, no other organization is closer to constructing a micro reactor in Canada than we are," said Francesco Venneri, CEO, USNC. "Through this joint venture, we're committed to proving how viable, safe, and valuable our MMR technology is to Canada and to the rest of the world."
"OPG is proud of our 50-year history as a leader in Canada's nuclear industry and our partnership in Global First Power is the latest chapter. We are excited about the advancement of low-carbon small modular reactors in Canada and see them as an innovative growth opportunity for our company, one that fits well with our existing clean energy portfolio," said Ken Hartwick, OPG President and CEO.
Schematic of the MMR nuclear generation plant
The USNC MMR consists of two plants: the nuclear plant that generates heat, and the adjacent power plant that converts heat into electricity or provides process heat for industrial applications. The USNC system is designed to be uniquely simple, with minimal operations and maintenance requirements, and no on-site fuel storage, handling, or processing.
The MMR fuel element and its incorporation into a complete fuel bundle
Key to the overall design is USNC's Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM™) fuel, providing a new approach to reactor safety at the fuel level.
The MMR fuel element and its incorporation into a complete fuel bundle
Among related projects,
• GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announced in February that it had made the first submittal to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the Vendor Design Review of its BWRX-300 small modular reactor.
• NuScale Power LLC in the US and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) have announced plans for an SMR, with site preparation possibly starting in 2022-3, nuclear construction (i.e., first “safety related concrete”) beginning in 2024, and commercial operation by 2027.
See also “Saskatchewan sets plans for SMRs,” elsewhere this issue in National News.
The federal government released its Canadian Small Modular Reactor Roadmap in November 2018, and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories announced the launch In July 2019 of the Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative (CNRI), a new program to enable research and development to accelerate the deployment of small modular reactors in Canada. In June 2018, CNL announced that four SMR project proponents had submitted responses to CNL’s Invitation for SMR Demonstration Projects at a CNL-managed site. And in April of that year, Bruce Power and partners announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance strategic research opportunities for SMRs.