05/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/07/2024 16:47
Despite Ontario's relatively cheap electricity supply (fourth lowest in Canada), our thirst for energy is rapidly expanding. A new report by the province's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) projects Ontario's electricity demand will grow by 60 per cent by 2050. This means we need to develop additional sources of power - and the clock is ticking.
One promising solution is the advent of small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors: emerging technologies that produce lesser amounts of power than traditional nuclear plants like those on the Great Lakes such as at Bruce Power or Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Pickering and Darlington facilities. The world's first 300 megawatt SMR (designed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy) is scheduled to be operational at the OPG Darlington Nuclear Generating Station before the end of the decade. Other SMRs are expected to be brought online in Canada and around the world in the 2030s, and beyond.
Very small SMRs (microreactors), roughly the size of a semi-trailer on a site about the size of a football field, offer the advantages of being deployable almost anywhere and serving smaller, remote communities, or even power a hospital. Some SMRs can adjust power input as system demand fluctuates.
Individual SMRs produce just a small fraction of electricity compared to traditional CANDU-based nuclear plants. But, if you build enough of them to complement the existing nuclear infrastructure, and place them strategically, over time you will have the added capacity needed to meet Ontario's and Canada's soaring power demands. Ontario Tech University will play a key role in this energy transition.
On May 7, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCAn) awarded a new research grant to Ontario Tech to develop a gamma-ray imaging system to examine SMR fuels and materials. Through a four-year special NSERC Alliance-NRCan joint partnership grant (valued at $537,900), Dr. Kirk Atkinson of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, and Director of Ontario Tech's Centre for Small Modular Reactors, will assess SMR fuel composition and integrity.
"We need to understand the long-term performance and behaviour of these newer uranium fuels, which are somewhat different from those used in traditional CANDU reactors," says Dr. Atkinson. "This grant will help us establish the tools and capability needed to confirm predictions and assure safety."
Dubbed 'RIDGEBACK 2' the university's gamma-ray imaging system won't generate or emit radiation itself, rather just measure it in a special way. The imaging system will be smaller than a person, and developed on campus, in the Centre for SMRs, housed in Ontario Tech's Energy Research Centre.
"Gamma rays are routinely studied in medical scans in nuclear medicine," explains Dr. Atkinson. "Patients are injected with a radioactive substance and technicians measure the gamma rays emitted and construct images of body structures and functions to figure out if people are healthy or not. Similarly, used nuclear fuel contains radioactive fission products from which we can detect gamma rays and create images to check the fuel's behaviour."
While traditional CANDU reactors use natural enrichment fuel, SMRs like the one that will be deployed in the coming years at Darlington uses conventional low-enriched uranium fuel, which is somewhat novel in Canada.
"Understanding, monitoring, inspecting, and verifying these new-to-Canada fuels is one of the impetuses of this grant. With fuel integrity, we are thinking about its shape and condition. We are talking about assuring there are no defects or leaks over time. With verification, we are confirming the fuel is what we think it is (that it hasn't been tampered with) and that internally it is performing as we expect."
"Professor Atkinson's new research project is an outstanding example of Ontario Tech's energy leadership: to find innovative solutions to foundational societal problems and challenges. The university is grateful to NSERC and NRCan for its continued support of our important research in nuclear energy, as Canada's energy sector transitions to net-zero carbon emissions."
-Dr. Les Jacobs, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Ontario Tech University
How much power does an SMR provide?
What does an SMR actually look like, compared to conventional nuclear reactors?
Have SMRs been deployed anywhere before?
Do SMRs need cooling sources like conventional reactors?
How do SMRs connect with the grid? Do they complement existing infrastructure, replace it, or both?
Will my electricity bills get more expensive with SMRs?
SMRs vary from the CANDU design because fuels are 'enriched' and each design uses a different type of fuel. Can you explain enrichment?
How long does SMR fuel last vs conventional reactors?
Reactors fueled with enriched fuels typically need refueling every few years. Some SMRs will have the same, others perhaps 5 or 10 years, depending on the design. CANDU reactors need refueling while they are online.
Is spent SMR fuel safe?
Media contact
Bryan Oliver
Communications and Marketing
Ontario Tech University
289.928.3653 (mobile)
[email protected]