REGINA — Funding has been confirmed for a new Small Modular Reactor Safety, Licensing and Testing Centre on the campus of the University of Regina.
At an announcement at the university Monday, it was confirmed the federal government is committing $1.96 million through PrairiesCan. SaskPower is committing $4 million, with $2 million from Prairies Economic Development Canada and $1 million from Innovation Saskatchewan. Innovation Saskatchewan is also providing an in-kind donation of leased space at its R + T Park for the first three years of operation.
That location will house two SMR test loops, according to a news release, that will simulate part of an SMR. Arthur Situm, Canada Research chair Tier 2 in Small Modular Reactor Safety and Licensing, explained what the work will involve.
"Essentially what these are (is) non-nuclear devices. There's no uranium present within them," said Situm of the test loops. "But they're meant to simulate the actual conditions that would be present in the reactor."
That could involve a number of different factors, he said.
"It could be looking at the chemistry if you're thinking about corrosion. Reactors are expensive. You're making a large upfront cost and you're looking to run it nicely and effectively as long as you possibly can to get your money's worth from the investment. So you really want to make sure you have a good understanding of any kind of corrosion or materials effects present within the facility.
"Other aspects are what's called thermal hydraulics or safety systems. So the types of reactors we use these days rely on what we call natural circulation rather than forced circulation. So if for some reason all power goes out Fukushima-style and you have to then keep the reactor nicely cooled, instead of relying on a diesel pump kicking in to cool the reactor, the design here is such that you have essentially natural circulation flowing up that keeps the overall core cool. Think of it kind of like a kettle, how that would work — same basic principle. You essentially have a large tank of water above the actual reactor and you're just basically relying on keeping the tank with some water in it to allow for cooling to take place.
"But fundamentally, you've got two loops filled with water. They're pressurized. They've got a certain flow rate going through them and you're looking at how different components are behaving."
The announcement of the centre is seen as important for the province as it takes steps toward establishing a small modular reactor in Saskatchewan, to be located in the Estevan area. Officials have indicated the centre will help advance understanding of how small modular reactors will function.
Federal Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger said the centre will allow research and testing under real-world conditions safely and effectively.
"Saskatchewan is uniquely positioned to lead this work," Belanger said. "We've got decades of nuclear expertise, world-class research facilities, and abundant uranium resources. Resources that the world needs, and resources that the world depends upon. From our uranium mines to the Sylvia Fedoruk Centre to the cyclotron here at the University of Regina, this province has been pushing global nuclear innovation for years."
He said the project will support 18 jobs while laying the groundwork for a future where "Saskatchewan will need an estimated 3,500 skilled workers to build and operate new nuclear facilities by the mid-2030s."
Speaking to reporters, Belanger described the initiative as a "natural evolution."
"They're looking at the small nuclear power option that could utilize that world-class uranium. What better environment do we need than the university that has the skill sets and the intelligent people and just the raw brainpower to make sure that this whole option and opportunity is done correctly?" said Belanger.
"I think we look at the whole notion around having world-class uranium, having the University of Regina with its top-notch research folks. These people have been around for a long time learning how Ontario did it. All this will culminate into lower costs for people's power bills. That's exactly what we all want to achieve as a federal government is to bring some of those costs down for the average Canadian."
SaskPower Minister Jeremy Harrison called the announcement a "major advance for SMRs, of which we are committed to moving down this path on."
He noted SaskPower has worked with partners at the federal level, as well as Ontario Power Generation, the governments of Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick, who "are part of our consortium on working through the deployment of small modular reactors, which is making real progress."
Harrison said he visited Darlington, Ont., a couple of months ago to tour construction at what is expected to be the western world’s first small modular reactor.
"That is real progress. And what we are doing here is a part of that national approach to working together on deploying SMRs across the country, and hopefully across the western world as well," he said. "This is going to allow us here as well to attract some very real talent through the Sylvia Fedoruk Research Institute, or research shows through the Sylvia Fedoruk Institute, in the nuclear space, which SaskPower has committed to funding."
Harrison added the work will focus on "very tangible things, like what is the appropriate material to resist corrosion over a length of time."
"So some of these technical things in a first-of-a-kind reactor project really are important. They might not be massively interesting to everybody, but that being said, they really are of great significance in determining long-term costs and also in mitigating longer-term costs by having the right materials on the front end, just on that component on this project."
SaskPower CEO Rupen Pandya called the announcement a "great" one.
"The partnership that we have formed with Prairies Economic Development, Innovation Saskatchewan, the University of Regina, the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories really sets the foundation for our work in nuclear going forward," Pandya said. "It's going to allow us to train and retain staff here in Saskatchewan who will be able to work directly on our nuclear project as we go forward. And I think the question was how will we have built up capability inside our company to bring an initial project description to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on the development of nuclear reactors in Saskatchewan. So we are very serious about the work that we're doing."
