Abstract

New developments in nuclear power have the potential to support decarbonization efforts of the mining, metallurgy, and petroleum industries at both off-grid and on-grid locations. The development and early commercialization efforts of both Small Modular Reactors (with unit-based outputs of under 300 MWe) and very Small Modular Reactors (with unit-based outputs of under 10 MWe) provide options for carbon-free process heat and power generation that are aligned to the scale needed to support decarbonization activities.

Beyond an initial investigation into what technologies may be most appropriate for a given site and cost forecasts, it can be difficult for companies not familiar with nuclear project development lifecycles to determine what activities can provide the most value in advancing a project, without committing to the full cost of project development and execution. This presentation will highlight and discuss a number of ‘no regret’ actions that can be taken to progress initial aspects of nuclear power projects in Canada to allow SMRs and vSMRs to remain an option for decarbonization at these sites as we progress towards the 2030’s. A discussion of the key roles and responsibilities required in a nuclear power project will be presented as well as how they may differ from traditional approaches to power generation.

By examining these items, a potential roadmap for nuclear power deployment will be discussed. This will include items such as the initial site selection and evaluation processes, identification of environmental assessment work and how that might be integrated with existing site data, technology assessment and technical integration needs, and identifying and gathering the required project partners throughout the various stages of the project.