The SMR BWRX-300 nuclear reactor / Image: GE Hitachi.
In Canada, Ontario is a bit like the nuclear province. It is home to three of the country’s four power stations. And soon, the one that should become the very first small modular reactor (SMR) put into operation in North America.
More than a year ago, President Emmanuel Macron presented the France 2030 recovery plan to us. The general public discovered a new acronym: SMR, understand “small modular reactors” or “small modular reactors” in French. Miniaturized nuclear reactors whose power would be, on paper, between 50 and 300 megawatts electric (MWe) – while that of the reactors we know is displayed between 900 and 1,650 MWe. With, for main interests, lower costs and shorter construction times.
More than 70 projects were thus identified worldwide. Among which, the French Nuward — two reactors with a power of 340 MWe. And those of almost 20 other countries. However, to date, only a few of these small modular reactors have come into operation. A 125 MWe SMR in China and two reactors of less than 75 MWe in Russia. As for Argentina, it is currently completing the construction of an SMR of only 25 MWe. The first European SMR could emerge from… Romania.
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Enough to supply 300,000 homes
But today, a contract for the delivery of the first small modular reactor in North America has just been signed. This is about the SMR BWRX-300 developed by General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy. With a capacity of 330 MWe – enough to power more than 300,000 homes – it will be commissioned at the Darlington nuclear power plant site in Ontario (Canada) being renovated by the end of 2028.
For comparison, it will have taken 9 years to build the reactor n°2 – with a power of about 900 MWe – of this plant and it is expected that this first SMR will be built in only 2 or 3 years. . For an estimated lifespan of 25 years for the first and 60 years for the second. The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has committed $715 million to the project. An investment about twice as much as a photovoltaic solar installation of equivalent capacity would require. But with the advantages promised by this controllable means of production.
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The difficulty of finding sites
It should be noted that the Darlington site remains the only one, in all of Canada, having obtained the authorizations to install new nuclear reactors. The standards imposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in fact, are binding. Similar to those applied to traditional reactors, such as the existence of secure infrastructure connections for the transport of radioactive materials, for example. Or access to a water supply for cooling. This explains — in addition to the practical side which makes it possible to further minimize construction costs and time — why existing nuclear sites are still preferred for the time being.
However, other provinces in Canada have expressed interest in General Electric’s SMR. Saskatchewan, New Brunswick — the only other nuclear province in the country — or even Alberta. In the United States too, Tennessee has taken steps. And in Europe, it is Poland which hopes to install the first of these small modular reactors before the end of this decade. To finally get out of coal without losing jobs.
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On the competition side, EDF and its Nuward project have received public funding of around 1.1 billion euros for the realization of a prototype by 2030. In the United Kingdom, it is Rolls- Royce hoping to win the race. The company also benefits from public funding for the development of a 470 MWe SMR. Memoranda of understanding have reportedly already been signed with Estonia, Turkey and the Czech Republic. And Rolls-Royce hopes to build its first small modular reactor in the early 2030s.
