Candu Energy begins planning for pre-license Monark design review

Friday, November 1, 2024

The 1000 MW Candu Monark, a Generation III+ reactor with the highest output of any Candu technology, was unveiled in November 2023. The conceptual design phase of the reactor was completed in September, and AtkinsRéalis plans to complete preliminary engineering by 2027 .

“Reactor development is a key differentiator for us as we have the exclusive license to deploy one of the few large reactor technologies available worldwide and therefore have extensive experience navigating the nuclear licensing process in Canada,” he said Joe St Julian, President of AtkinsRéalis. , Nuclear. “As the world enters a nuclear market super-cycle with demand for 1,000 reactor newbuilds expected, we remain on track to complete the Candu Monark design by 2027, positioning the first Candu Monark newbuild to start yet from 2029 and be completed by 2029. mid-2030s’.

The special project will familiarize Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff with the design and allow them to provide feedback on what will be needed in a future pre-authorization design review.

CNSC’s optional Vendor Design Review (VDR) process allows CNSC staff to provide feedback to a vendor early in the design process. Such a review seeks to verify, at a high level, that Canadian nuclear regulatory requirements and expectations, as well as Canadian codes and standards, will be met, as well as to help identify and possibly resolve any fundamental barriers to licensing for a new project. in Canada. AtkinsRéalis said it believed the completion of a VDR was an additional measure that provides predictability to a purchasing utility.

A typical VDR includes three phases, but since the Candu Monark design heavily leverages the platform of previous Candu reactor designs that have fully completed all three phases of the regulator’s VDR, as well as those that have already been licensed and built , the company said it has asked the CNSC to consider two possible types of pre-authorization design review: either a VDR or a preliminary draft regulatory review.

The special project between the CNSC and AtkinsRéalis will see the regulator’s experts develop a program and estimate for both a VDR and a preliminary regulatory design assessment, reflecting the impact of the range of improvements and upgrades to the Candu Monark technology, the variation them compared to the past tense. projects that have already passed through all three VDR phases and any relevant changes in regulatory requirements and expectations.

“AtkinsRéalis will then be able to assess which of these pathways will be most appropriate in supporting the Candu Monark design programme, with the aim of seeking rigorous review and feedback on the Candu Monark design to ensure that any potential construction project new Candu Monark can be undertaken with confidence in licensing costs and timing,” the company said.