Why Canada’s nuclear choice is also a supply chain choice

Amid increasing geopolitical instability and the potential for supply disruptions, ensuring Canada’s energy security and resilience has never been more important.  

Canada needs more clean, reliable baseload electricity. The federal government recently announced plans to build new infrastructure to double Canada’s electricity supply by 2050 in order to meet growing demand. 

As a non-emitting source of electricity, nuclear power can help deliver that dependable energy. Canada also has a long history of nuclear expertise, providing the country with a unique advantage. This includes the CANDU® (CANada Deuterium Uranium), a Canadian-designed nuclear reactor technology, and the mature domestic supply chain that supports it.  

Investing in this domestic CANDU ecosystem could help support Canada’s energy independence and security, deliver skilled jobs,economic benefits and strengthen global competitiveness.  

 A mature, end-to-end Canadian supply chain  

Canada’s CANDU supply chain is well-established and wide-reaching. It includes more than 250 companies supplying CANDU fuel, components, equipment, services and tooling. The ecosystem is Ontario-centric but Canada-wide and can support the full range of nuclear activities, including new builds, refurbishments, operations, maintenance and export opportunities. Over 85 per cent of CANDU reactor equipment and parts can be supplied by Canadian manufacturers.  

“Within our supply chain, 87 per cent of all our current orders at the moment are to Canadian businesses,” says Adrian Davies, vice-president of supply chain management at AtkinsRéalis, the original equipment manufacturer, exclusive licence holder, and steward of CANDU technology. “We have a supply chain that’s probably the envy of the world.”

Providing Canadian jobs and economic value    

The CANDU supply chain provides benefits for Canadian workers, businesses and communities. AtkinsRéalis’ nuclear supply-chain partners employ approximately 90,000 people in fields including engineering, manufacturing, construction, project management and the skilled trades. These are predominantly unionized, highly skilled jobs. 

“When you work it out on a new build, you’re talking about a 100-year life of a nuclear reactor,” says Davies. With approximately 10 years of construction, decades of operations and maintenance, major refurbishments every 30 years or so, and continuing demand for parts, services and skilled workers, each new CANDU reactor creates ample opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses. 

“For careers and for vendors in the supply chain, this is decades of work,” says Davies. He adds that AtkinsRéalis has spent $2.8 billion in Canada since Jan. 1, 2024.

Energy security through domestic capability 

Davies emphasizes that CANDU’s largely onshore supply chain reduces its exposure to international shipping chokepoints, tariffs, geopolitical instability and overseas material disruptions.  

“To have that security and not having to rely on another country for key components is massive,” says Davies. “We’ve structured our supply chains to make sure we’re minimizing those risks.” 

Canadian technology, fuel, expertise and manufacturing support reliable CANDU operations while reducing reliance on foreign supply chains. 

CANDU is also able to operate using natural, unenriched uranium, which reduces reliance on overseas uranium enrichment services and takes advantage of Canada’s position as the second-largest producer and exporter of uranium in the world.  

Davies notes that CANDU’s domestic supply chain also strengthens project delivery, reducing the risk of projects being delayed due to parts or materials not being available. 

 Delivering complex nuclear projects 

AtkinsRéalis works with Canada’s established supply chain to support CANDU technology and ensure complex nuclear projects are delivered on time and on budget. Decades of experience and expertise help to reduce the risks associated with large, multifaceted infrastructure projects. 

“We handed over the Darlington Refurbishment Project $150 million under budget and four months early against an original budget of $12.8 billion set almost 15 years ago,” says Joe St. Julian, president, muclear at AtkinsRéalis. “An impressive accomplishment for any industrial capital program and even more so for a nuclear project. No other nuclear project in the world has done that, and it’s because we have a supply chain that knows how to deliver.” 

St. Julian adds that the Darlington Refurbishment Project showcases how experience compounds across successive projects. “We’ve taken all the learnings from its four units and will apply them to the next four units,” he says. The lessons learned can be applied to the Pickering Refurbishment Project and shared with international refurbishment and life extension projects in Romania, China and potentially South Korea.

Why technology choice matters to the future of the supply chain 

Canada’s current nuclear ecosystem has been developed and refined over decades and is centred on CANDU technology. Selecting a reactor technology is therefore a decision about which supply chain, workforce and expertise Canada will support. 

While adding another technology provider in Canada may seem as though it would offer greater competition and benefit the supply chain, Davies notes several drawbacks. These include losing economies of scale, having to duplicate supplier audit efforts, managing competing demands and having to rebuild supplier relationships built over decades. A different technology (rather than just another CANDU supplier) could also require suppliers to obtain additional certifications, work to different standards and learn to manufacture unfamiliar components. 

Since Canada already has a mature domestic supply chain and expertise built around CANDU, adding a different technology could mean failing to leverage existing strengths and a fleet approach, which has yielded tremendous benefits to Canada over the past three decades.  

From domestic strength to export leadership 

In addition to supporting consistent baseload electricity at home, CANDU’s domestic supply chain enables Canada to export safe, reliable and decarbonized nuclear solutions to countries that need them. 

Canada’s Nuclear Energy Strategy identifies becoming a global supplier and exporter of choice as one of its key pillars and highlights CANDU technology and its mature supply chain as critical domestic strengths that set the stage for export leadership. 

“It’s probably Canada’s greatest large-scale export potential,” says St. Julian. 

International CANDU projects generate recurring demand for Canadian components, replacement parts, specialized tooling and technical services. They create ongoing work for Canadian companies all along the supply chain, including those involved in design, manufacturing, construction support, servicing, maintenance and refurbishment.  

From specialized robotic equipment made in Canada to critical components and replacement parts supplied to CANDU projects abroad, every new CANDU project reinforces the supply chain and creates economic opportunities within Canada.  

Choosing Canadian technology can strengthen energy security at home while expanding Canada’s influence and economic opportunities abroad.  

“We have a supply chain that’s ready and hungry,” says St. Julian. “We are ready and we’re committed.  A technology decision will incentivize the supply chain to ramp up its investments, expand capacity and begin delivering on the next generation of nuclear projects. 

Learn more about CANDU technology at atkinsrealis.com/candu.

This story was provided by AtkinsRéalis for commercial purposes.