Candu – CNNC Tie-Up Great for Canada-China

Posted by on Nov 10, 2014 in Blog | 0 comments

In spite of calls by various groups for Prime Minister Harper to call out his hosts on so-called ‘human rights’ issues during his recent trip to Beijing, this is the sort of tangible Canada-China cooperation that generates jobs and technological cooperation, and promotes general progress in both countries.  It is also what Canada needs to do to better crack the rapidly expanding Chinese marketplace.  This particular tie-up helps China to recycle used fuels of its massively growing cluster of nuclear power plants and in so doing dramatically reduces the hazards of conventional nuclear waste.

So, enough of the rhetoric and more of concrete cooperation!

 

…Candu Energy – divorced from the federal government and in the hands of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. – says it is working toward a deal that could see it partner with a Chinese nuclear giant to build new reactors, both in China and abroad.

By June, 2015, Candu hopes to finalize a joint-venture deal with China National Nuclear Corp., the massive state-owned atomic power and weapons company, “to develop global opportunities” for its advanced fuel reactor. The two sides signed an initial broad-strokes memorandum of understanding during the visit of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Beijing this weekend.

In the past week, a technical committee led by CNNC also gave its approval to the technology Candu intends to use, classifying it as a third-generation nuclear system that can meet post-Fukushima safety requirements.

…

The joint venture would be the first between a foreign company and the Chinese nuclear giant to cover development of a technology; competitors such as Westinghouse and Areva have typically signed more limited deals that cover, for example, engineering or equipment supply. Candu has agreed to provide some of its intellectual property, while CNNC will further invest in the technology.

The deal covers a Candu reactor that can be used to burn both recycled uranium and fuel derived from thorium, a more common radioactive element that China has in large quantities. Recycled uranium has already been used to generate electricity through other types of reactors, before being reprocessed into a form that can be used in Candu’s reactors, which can operate with less potent fuel.

Candu says one of its reactors can be built to burn fuel recycled from four existing units. China operates 22 reactors – the most of any country – and is building another 26.  Candu has yet to run an entire reactor on recycled uranium, although it has run numerous tests and is modifying its reactors in China for that purpose. It expects to begin “full core conversion” to recycled fuel in late 2015. If that is successful, it opens the door to the potential for multiple installations in China.

– Globe and Mail