University of New Brunswick among three organizations to receive SMR development funds from Government of Canada
Investment totalling $56 million for New Brunswick-based Moltex Energy, New Brunswick Power and UNB’s Centre for Nuclear Energy Research (CNER).
MARCH 19, 2021 – The University of New Brunswick has received nearly $562,000 as part of a funding announcement that included $50.5 million for Moltex Energy Canada, a small modular reactor (SMR) vendor with plans to build its technology at New Brunswick Power’s (NB Power) Point Lepreau site by the early 2030s.
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic Leblanc, announced, March 18, the investment provided through the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program.
The funds for CNER will be used to expand its capacity to support SMR technology development in New Brunswick. The University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering (UNENE) member collaborates with Moltex as part of the province’s nuclear research cluster working on research and development on SMR technology.
The Moltex funding is expected to enable the company to develop its Stable Salt Reactor – Wasteburner (SSR-W) technology that will produce clean energy through its Waste To Stable Salts (WATSS) process that recycles existing used nuclear fuel to produce non-carbon emitting energy. The technology has the potential to reduce storage needs for existing used nuclear fuel and could lead the way in establishing a first-of-its-kind system in Canada.
The government also announced funding in the amount of $4.99 million for NB Power to prepare its Point Lepreau site, home to the province’s only CANDU reactor, for SMR deployment and demonstration.
In February, ARC Canada, which is also a CNER partner, received $20 million in funding from the Government of New Brunswick. The funds are intended to support the deployment of its ARC-100 advanced SMR by the late 2020s.
These projects support Canada’s SMR Action Plan, which outlines a long-term vision for the development and deployment of this technology in Canada and the world. UNENE and University of New Brunswick contributed chapters to the SMR Action Plan outlining their commitments to support SMR research, training and education in Canada.
Click here to read the full announcement from the Government of Canada.
Click here to read the announcement from Moltex Energy.