Feds fund small nuclear reactor ahead of national strategy to adopt more of them

Oct 15, 2020 | 12:58 PM

OTTAWA — An Ontario nuclear power company is getting $20 million from Ottawa to try to get its new reactor in line with Canada’s safety regulations.

Terrestrial Energy in Oakville, Ont., is one of about a dozen companies in Canada developing a small modular reactor, a nuclear-power generator that is much smaller and more versatile than the big, Canadian-made CANDU reactors in service in Ontario and New Brunswick.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains says the money will help the company complete a pre-licensing process with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

This process occurs before the company applies for a licence so that it can work to meet the commission’s requirements in the development phase.