U-Battery advancing toward siting a first-of-a-kind SMR in Canada

The U-Battery consortium has successfully completed the first stage of the evaluation process in Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) invitation to site a first-of–a-kind small modular reactor (SMR) at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s (AECL) Chalk River Laboratories campus in Chalk River, Ontario.

The consortium - led by global supplier of enrichment services and fuel cycle products, Urenco – is now invited to proceed to the due diligence stage, in which CNL will evaluate the proposed design, assess its financial viability and review the necessary security and integrity requirements.

This is a critical milestone for U-Battery as it prepares to expand its design and licensing team in readiness for the next stage of development.

U-Battery General Manager Steve Threlfall has led a concerted effort to progress U-Battery in Canada and the UK, as part of its dual-track approach. U-Battery has also made significant progress through the UK’s Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Programme. U-Battery was successful in receiving funding support through Phase 1, and is currently awaiting the results of Phase 2. Urenco is looking forward to progressing U-Battery over the Phase 2 funding period.

Steve said: “This is an exciting time for U-Battery as we are now a step closer to establishing a first-of-a-kind SMR at the Chalk River research facility. We are entering the energy sector at a critical time in Canada’s energy transformation, and U-Battery has the potential to drive significant regional economic benefits across Canada while addressing urgent climate change needs.”

U-Battery’s innovative SMR technology aims to replace diesel power with clean, safe, and cost-effective energy for a variety of applications, including remote communities and other off-grid locations such as mining operations in northern regions.

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