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Canada’s AtkinsRéalis Group plans to deploy its nuclear reactor technology in the US to compete against Westinghouse, as a growing number of foreign companies rush to capitalise on Donald Trump’s strategy of unleashing American atomic energy.
The Montreal-based company has enlisted support from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for its proposed American expansion and is scheduling meetings with US officials as it prepares to apply for a reactor licence from the country’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It has also begun talks with US utilities, which would be the ultimate buyers of its reactors.
“AtkinsRéalis Nuclear has begun to explore opportunities for alternative large nuclear reactor technologies, notably Candu reactors, in the US,” said Joe St-Julian, global president of nuclear at AtkinsRéalis, in an interview.
Korean developer Kepco and Italian-French small modular reactor company Newcleo were also considering an entry into the US nuclear market, industry sources told the Financial Times.
Candu is a type of pressurised heavy-water nuclear reactor, which use a technology that does not need enriched uranium and so is perceived as cheaper to operate than most other commercial reactors.
AtkinsRéalis’s push into the US nuclear reactor market follows publication of four executive orders by the Trump administration in May, which set targets to quadruple nuclear energy capacity in the country by 2050, start work on 10 large reactors by 2030, and accelerate regulatory approvals.
Billions of dollars of government incentives are expected to be provided by the administration, which argues new large-scale nuclear plants are necessary to supply stable, around-the-clock electricity supplies to power the artificial intelligence revolution.
Westinghouse, the only US-based company with a large reactor design approved by the NRC and active in the US industry, has told US officials it can deploy 10 of its AP1000 reactor designs to meet the administration’s goals.
But rivals say working on 10 large plants simultaneously would be a complex and difficult task for a single company, particularly given that costs are expected to top $75bn based on government estimates, according to TD Cowen, an investment bank.
St-Julian said there was huge potential in the US market, where the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for a major build-out of nuclear power plants to meet rising demand for electricity. Westinghouse would have “home field advantage” when bidding for contracts in the US but AtkinsRéalis’s Candu reactor could be a strong competitor, he said.
“Typically, countries favour their own sovereign nuclear technology. But there used to be four reactor companies in the US — Westinghouse, General Electric, Babcock & Wilcox and Utility Engineers — and now there is just one. Could Westinghouse build 10 AP1000s simultaneously? I don’t think so. So I think that there is an opportunity for Candu in the US.”
More than 30 Candu reactors have been deployed in seven countries, including Canada, Argentina, China, India, Pakistan, Romania and South Korea since the early 1960s. AtkinsRéalis has recently stepped up efforts to expand internationally and in November signed a $159mn contract with the Romanian government for two new Candu reactors.
Adam Stein, a nuclear expert at the Breakthrough institute, a Washington-based think-tank, said booming electricity demand and more flexible licensing regulations could provide opportunities to new entrants in the US, such as the Candu reactor.
“Candu reactors are typically rather expensive but they have an existing supply chain in Canada because of a recent refurbishment programme. This could make a big difference.”
But he said Candu’s success might depend on whether Washington viewed its policy of unleashing American atomic energy as primarily a mechanism to speedily add new nuclear capacity to the grid to win the AI race or support US-based nuclear developers.
Westinghouse, which is jointly owned by private equity group Brookfield and uranium miner Cameco, faces limited competition in the US, as global industry leaders, Russia’s Rosatom and China General Nuclear Power Group, are unlikely to win contracts due to geopolitical rivalries.
The US company has enjoyed success with its AP1000 reactor, a pressurised water reactor operating at several locations in the US and China. But delays and cost overruns during construction of two AP1000 reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant in recent years highlight the complexity of nuclear construction.
GE Vernova, which has a joint venture with Hitachi, has not built a large reactor in decades in the US and has shifted its focus to small modular reactors, a new type of reactor design that generates about a third or less of the power capacity of standard units. France’s EDF withdrew from the US nuclear reactor market almost a decade ago.
Korea’s Kepco, which has an US approved reactor design but has never built a large reactor in the country, confirmed it was considering entering the US.
“US nuclear projects are different from the Korean environment in terms of winning regulatory approval, labour and environmental conditions so we need to review and analyse this before entering the market,” said Kepco.
Newcleo declined to comment.