November 28, 2025 PICKERING, Ontario – Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, a federal Crown corporation, is continuing to develop a thriving fusion sector in Canada by establishing a Centre for Fusion Energy with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Ontario Power Generation and Stellarex. This collaboration will create a national platform for a robust and integrated Canadian fusion ecosystem, develop advanced domestic fusion energy capabilities, and advance fusion energy research and development in Canada. Advancing Canadian leadership in fusion energy is part of the federal government’s commitment to establishing Canada as an energy superpower and the strongest economy in the G7.

“Through a new Centre for Fusion Excellence, Canada and Ontario are taking another step forward to strengthen our nuclear energy sector,” said Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “Our new government is proud to work with the province to support Canadian investments that will broaden our clean energy research and grow our fusion energy sector.”

It is expected that other partners and contributors will join the Centre for Fusion Energy and expand the reach to additional private-sector and research organizations.

“Ontario’s world-renowned researchers are driving the energy sector into a new era of clean energy,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. “Through this investment, our government is leveraging our province’s position as a nuclear powerhouse to fuel fusion energy discoveries that will advance our industries, build our energy workforce and protect Ontario.”

“Ontario is an advanced nuclear operator that embraces the first mover advantage, starting with leveraging Canadian CANDU technology over 50 years ago to building the G7’s first Small Modular Reactor today,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines. “As fusion energy represents the next frontier in clean 24/7 power, Ontario is again leading the way with Ontario Power Generation delivering the Centre for Fusion Energy. Ontario is doubling down on our nuclear advantage by investing in the development of fusion nuclear power — an almost inexhaustible source of emission-free energy for future generations.”

The federal government contribution comes from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Federal Nuclear Science and Technology Work Plan, with an investment of $33 million of in-kind fusion-related research projects delivered by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. This program connects the expansive tritium, fusion and materials research capabilities of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories with the Centre for Fusion Energy.

The province of Ontario, through Ontario Power Generation, is also investing $19.5 million, and fusion company Stellarex is contributing up to $39 million in fusion energy development and deployment activities. Ontario, through OPG, is home to almost all of the world’s commercial tritium—a by-product of OPG’s CANDU reactors—which serves as the key fusion fuel for nearly all fusion reactor designs.

“Fusion is a critical, long-term, global scientific challenge, and Canada has developed a number of unique capabilities that will allow us to play an important role in its future,” said Fred Dermarkar, President and CEO of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. “Working together, across levels of government, and between public, private, and academic institutions is essential for realizing our collective potential”.

“This agreement marks an exciting moment for fusion energy here in Canada. It speaks to the spirit of exploration, innovation, and collaboration. This new Centre better connects CNL’s deep experience and globally unique capabilities in tritium and materials research with the industrial partners seeking to move this promising clean energy technology towards deployment,” noted Dr. Stephen Bushby, Vice-President, Science & Technology, CNL.

“OPG has a long history of leadership in Canada’s nuclear industry, and we recognize the role fusion may play in meeting Ontario’s – and the world’s – future clean energy needs,” said Kim Lauritsen, OPG Senior Vice President, Enterprise Strategy and Growth. “As this technology moves toward commercial implementation, OPG — through the CFE — will work to develop a domestic fusion ecosystem that positions Ontario and Canada as leaders in this rapidly-developing technology.”

“Canada’s nuclear expertise and its unique global competitive advantages make it an ideal place to accelerate fusion energy development,” said Spencer Pitcher, Stellarex’s Chief Executive Officer-Designate. “With our provincial and federal government partners, Stellarex will strengthen Canada’s fusion energy know how, build fusion energy prototypes, and prepare the fusion-ready workforce needed to deliver fusion power to the grid.”

QUICK FACTS

• The Centre for Fusion Energy is a public-private partnership that will bring together leaders in the clean energy space, further scientific cooperation, and make Canada a preferred destination for fusion investment.
• The federal government, through Atomic Energy of Canada and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, is contributing $33M in research activities over three years.
• The Centre for Fusion Energy is one of several investments in fusion energy that Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the federal government are making. This includes support for General Fusion, and investing in Fusion Fuel Cycles, a joint venture between Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Kyoto Fusioneering, which is pursuing the UNITY-2 test facility for the demonstration of the fusion fuel cycle, to be located at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Chalk River Laboratories.
• Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories have been pulling together an ecosystem in Canada and have published an initial national strategy roadmap in co-operation with industry.

About Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is a federal Crown corporation with a mandate to drive nuclear opportunities for Canada. Working through a Government-owned, Contractor-operated model that is executed by its contractor, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, AECL enables nuclear science and technology through its Chalk River Laboratories, Canada’s largest research complex, and by engaging with academia and private industry to advance nuclear innovation. It is committed to advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. It also manages the Government of Canada’s radioactive waste responsibilities. AECL continues to own the intellectual property for the CANDU® reactor technology and is accountable for deriving optimal benefit from this technology for Canada. Read more on AECL at www.aecl.ca.

About Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
As Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology laboratory and working under the direction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), CNL is a world leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies, and contributing to the health of Canadians. By leveraging the assets owned by AECL, CNL also serves as the nexus between government, the nuclear industry, the broader private sector and the academic community. CNL works in collaboration with these sectors to advance innovative Canadian products and services towards real-world use, including carbon-free energy, cancer treatments and other therapies, non-proliferation technologies and waste management solutions.

About Ontario Power Generation
As Ontario’s largest and one of North America’s most diverse electricity generators, OPG invests in local economies and employs thousands of people across Ontario. OPG and its family of companies are advancing the development of new low-carbon technologies, refurbishment projects and electrification initiatives to power the growing demands of a clean economy. Learn more about how the company is delivering these initiatives while prioritizing people, partnerships and strong communities at OPG.com.

About Stellarex
Stellarex Group Ltd is a Canadian fusion energy technology company. The scientific founders have over 120 years of cumulative experience in fusion science and engineering and have held leadership positions in the world’s foremost fusion laboratories in the USA, UK, Germany, and France. The Stellarex Group’s mission is to accelerate fusion energy innovation, development, and deployment, and to enable the advancement of fusion technologies and competencies required to prepare Canada for competitive value-added participation in the global fusion energy industry.

AECL Contact:
Jeremy Latta
Director of Communications and Government Reporting
Email: jlatta@aecl.ca

CNL Contact:
Philip Kompass
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325
media@cnl.ca

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Chalk River, ON – November 27, 2025 – Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, is pleased to announce the release of its 2024-2025 Sustainability Report, the latest in a series of annual documents that tracks the company’s journey towards more sustainable operations. First published in 2021, the most recent report provides members of the public, CNL stakeholders and interested parties with insight into the work being done to integrate sustainability into the company’s projects, programs and culture, working in coordination with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL).

Included within CNL’s Sustainability Report are goals and targets related to environmental performance, including carbon emissions, energy efficiency, biodiversity and waste management, as well as organizational commitments to social and economic sustainability, and good governance. Among other activities, the report highlights actions taken by CNL to reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions, nurture a diverse workforce and healthy work environment, pursue meaningful engagement with local and Indigenous communities, and expand economic opportunity for Indigenous-owned and local businesses. Given the national priority placed on clean and secure energy, the report also highlights how CNL supports the broader nuclear ecosystem and helps to position nuclear innovation as an important contributor for a more sustainable future.

Among the many highlights identified in the report this year, CNL has:

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 53 per cent at Chalk River Laboratories since 2005, by avoiding high carbon-density fossil fuels, decommissioning aging buildings and infrastructure, integrating building efficiency enhancements, and decarbonization of the Ontario electricity grid
• Diverted 91 per cent of conventional (clean, operational) waste at all CNL-managed sites, and 95 per cent of construction and demolition waste from landfill at the Chalk River Laboratories site
• Surpassed its target for sourcing goods and services from Indigenous-owned businesses, creating economic opportunity for Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities
• Advanced cancer treatment by leading Actinium-225 production in collaboration with the Sylvia Fedoruk Centre, ITM and Actineer Inc.
• Established a dedicated Sustainability Office which serves as a consolidated centre of expertise and advice across CNL, continuing to mature CNL’s capabilities and demonstrating its commitment to sustainability.
• Expanded its university partnership program, outreach activities and student engagement, resulting in a two-fold increase in co-op hires and term extensions from partner universities

“As Canada’s national nuclear laboratories, CNL’s commitment to sustainability impacts and adds value to every area of our business,” commented Jack Craig, CNL’s President and CEO. “Whether it is making informed decisions in our projects to realize cost-savings through life-cycle investments, building a workplace culture that attracts top talent, contributing to meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, or building trust with communities and businesses surrounding the sites that we manage, sustainability has a profound impact on everything we do, big and small.”

“As the Crown corporation responsible for Canada’s nuclear assets, AECL is proud to work alongside CNL to embed sustainability into every facet of our operations,” commented Fred Dermarkar, President and CEO of AECL. “This latest report demonstrates how our partnership is driving tangible progress, reducing emissions, protecting biodiversity, and fostering meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities. Together, we are ensuring that Canada’s nuclear sector not only meets today’s energy and environmental challenges but also creates lasting value for future generations.”

“At its core, sustainability is about making responsible choices that positively affect environment and social outcomes and create lasting value for all those who have a stake in CNL’s plans, operations and outcomes,” commented Dilhari Fernando, CNL’s Chief Sustainability Strategy Officer. “We do this by taking concrete steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, protect nature and biodiversity, keep our employees safe and position them for success. It also means transforming the way we work to align our investments, talents and capabilities to help confront national challenges in clean energy, public health and safety, energy security and environmental remediation.”

If you’d like to learn more about CNL, or view the company’s 2024-2025 Sustainability Report, please visit www.cnl.ca/sustainability.

About CNL 

As Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology laboratory and working under the direction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), CNL is a world leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies, and contributing to the health of Canadians.

By leveraging the assets owned by AECL, CNL also serves as the nexus between government, the nuclear industry, the broader private sector and the academic community. CNL works in collaboration with these sectors to advance innovative Canadian products and services towards real-world use, including carbon-free energy, cancer treatments and other therapies, non-proliferation technologies and waste management solutions.

To learn more about CNL, please visit www.cnl.ca. 

-30- 

CNL Contact:

Philip Kompass
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325
media@cnl.ca

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Chalk River, ON – November 12, 2025 – Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, is pleased to announce that over 130 CNL employees were recognized for their exceptional accomplishments at the company’s 2025 Awards of Excellence ceremony, which was held last week at Germania Hall in Pembroke. An annual program that recognizes employee excellence, the CNL Awards of Excellence were established to celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals and teams whose hard work, determination and accomplishments helped CNL deliver its science and technology programs and major projects.

As Canada’s national nuclear laboratory, CNL provides nuclear science and technology products and services to federal and commercial customers, works to safely address Canada’s nuclear liabilities, and is managing the revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories campus. This year’s winners were recognized for accomplishments that include advancements in the production of an exciting new medical isotope, the development of innovative technologies and capabilities, the implementation of new laboratory standards in key facilities, improvements in organization health and safety, and achievements in waste management and decommissioning, among others.

“I would like to congratulate the 2025 CNL Awards of Excellence winners for their unwavering commitment to organizational excellence, innovation and safety, and for demonstrating what’s possible at Canada’s national nuclear laboratories,” commented Jack Craig, CNL’s President and CEO. “Whether it is advancing new nuclear products and services, leading some of Canada’s largest and most complex clean-up projects, developing new medical isotopes, improving organizational safety or penetrating new commercial markets, these employees stepped up to help bring our corporate vision to life. In doing so, you represent the very best of CNL, and we appreciate all your hard work.”

“On behalf of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of this year’s CNL Awards of Excellence recipients,” said Fred Dermarkar, President and CEO of AECL. “Your dedication and ingenuity are driving progress in nuclear science and technology, improving safety and economics, and delivering solutions that matter to Canadians. These achievements show what’s possible when talented people work together toward a cleaner and more prosperous future.”

D.F. Torgerson Discovery Award

CNL’s Awards of Excellence are organized into two categories. The first, known as the D.F. Torgerson Discovery Award, is named after CNL’s former Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Dave Torgerson, and recognizes employees for the generation of new or innovative ideas and solutions, significant research or technical achievements, and new business initiatives. This year’s awards were presented to 75 employees from five groups for accomplishments that include:

• The development of an innovative remediation strategy for nuclear decommissioning
• The advancement of new practices and processes to produce Actinium-225, an exciting new medical isotope
• The development of new tooling to support a Canadian nuclear power station
• The development and implementation of new techniques to detect opioids, explosives and other illicit substances for effective screening and combating crime
• The successful completion of CNL’s first two Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) studies, leading to GLP full recognition for the company

Distinguished Merit Award

The Distinguished Merit Award is given to employees who have made exceptional contributions in productivity improvements, achievements of increased revenue, decreased operating costs, safety innovation or environmental initiatives, development or strengthening of new or existing partnerships, and the exploitation of these results. This year’s awards were presented to 56 employees from six groups for accomplishments that include:

• The unwavering commitment to the well-being of a colleague
• The delivery of outstanding regulatory work in support of the Near Surface Disposal Facility
• The delivery of the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) Historic Waste Project Small Scale Sites Construction Monitoring Program
• The implementation of a new approach to completing small-scale, interior remediation projects, saving time and money
• The identification of new understandings regarding alpha particle safety
• The development and implementation of a novel strategy to better protect employee workers as part of the Legacy Spent Fuel Bays project

For a full list of the 2025 CNL Awards of Excellence winners, including profiles and videos on the award-winning teams, please visit www.cnl.ca/awards. To learn more about CNL, please visit www.cnl.ca.

About CNL

As Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology laboratory and working under the direction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), CNL is a world leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies, and contributing to the health of Canadians.

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The Science Collaboration Centre at Chalk River Laboratories was constructed using more than 1,350 metres cubed of mass timber

The interior of the Science Collaboration Centre at Chalk River Laboratories displays the beauty of mass timber construction

At the storied Chalk River Laboratories, the use of mass timber in the construction of its new buildings highlights the progress that Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has made over the past few years to revitalize the historic site, which is owned by the federal Crown corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. The work to upgrade the legacy facilities, many of which were built 70 or more years ago, will enable today’s generation of nuclear scientists and engineers to continue their research on a modern campus. Laying the groundwork for the new builds is one of Canada’s largest and most complex decommissioning and environmental remediation campaigns.

While more discreet than the beauty of mass timber, CNL’s company-wide waste minimization strategy is ensuring that – where possible – demolition debris and equipment from the dismantling of old buildings is being diverted for recycling and reuse. An ambitious target set in 2023 to align with the federal government’s Greening Government Strategy, which is reinforced in CNL’s Sustainability Strategy,  targets the diversion of at least 90 per cent of demolition and construction waste from landfill by 2030.

In the last nine months, several CNL projects have achieved notable feats when it comes to sustainable decommissioning and meeting that 90 per cent diversion rate target,. In 2025, the decommissioning team dismantled a support facility to one of Chalk River Laboratories’ flagship research reactors, which was best known for supplying the world with life-saving medical isotopes for almost 70 years. Construction and demolition material from the demolition of this support facility included metal, rubble, and wood. 94 per cent of the soft strip strcuture was diverted from landfill for use in animal bedding, biofuel, soil additives, or as aggregate and metal was sent for recycling.

Workers progressing decommissioning work at Chalk River Laboratories

Protective equipment and clothing is often required due to the asbestos in many of the buildings undergoing decommissioning

For a sense of scale, that 94 per cent represents 227,640 kilograms of material that was put back into use either at Chalk River Laboratories or via external recycling vendors. That achievement not only generated cost savings for the project, but it reduced CNL’s impact to the environment, both by avoiding the environmental cost of creating new materials and by limiting landfill use.

This material has several purposes. For example, some of the external recycling vendors reuse the soft-strip or wood material to create biofuels and animal bedding. Jennifer Turcotte, CNL’s Manager of Clearable Waste for Chalk River Laboratories is excited about the success of the program and where it’s going, “This work is near and dear to my heart. In fact, the very first recycling program here in Renfrew County [where CNL’s Chalk River campus is located] was started at my high school by a friend,” she explained. “This career is also my passion and I’m proud of our team’s success. With our program, CNL is looking to find new disposition paths for anything and everything that currently goes to landfill.”

At a small reactor site more than five hundred kilometres across the province of Ontario from Chalk River, CNL is decommissioning the first full-scale nuclear power generating station in Canada – Douglas Point, which is located within the Bruce nuclear site on Lake Huron. For the work planned for this decade (the non-nuclear buildings, nuclear support buildings, and reactor components), CNL has projected that more than 90 per cent of the material will be reused or recycled. To date, the team is on track to meet that objective as demonstrated in the last quarter of 2024, when the decommissioning team took down the Administration Building, one of the non-nuclear buildings. For instance, steel from the decommissioned buildings is sent to local scrap metal businesses – supporting small businesses and the circular supply chain.

Construction of Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station in 1962

The entire Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station, including the reactor and support buildings, was built in the early 1960s. Generations of staff used the Administration Building for office space until 2018, which was long after the reactor ceased generating electricity in the mid-1980s. With the demolition of the Administration Building, CNL applied its waste minimization strategy, successfully diverting 92 per cent of non-hazardous material from the landfill. This means 686,705 kg of metal and concrete were sent for reuse or recycling, using local and small businesses for scrap metal where possible, and engaging the wider nuclear supply chain for decontamination services and support in order to amplify reusability. As the reactor decommissioning project continues, CNL anticipates continuing to meet that company-wide target of 90 per cent of demolition debris going back into circulation.

A hose sprays water to suppress dust as an environmental protection measure during dismantling of the Administration Building at Douglas Point

An aerial image of the footprint of the Douglas Point Administration Building shows sorted piles of demolition debris – a first step for recycling and reuse

Chalk River Laboratories, the birthplace of nuclear in Canada, is undergoing a significant site revitalization – underpinned by sustainability in new building and legacy decommissioning

Returning to Chalk River Laboratories, the scale of the site revitalization underscores the importance of CNL’s waste minimization policy. Since 2015, CNL’s decommissioning teams have taken down 127 buildings at the site, with 95 more planned by the end of the decade. By 2030, CNL estimates its decommissioning efforts at Chalk River Laboratories will have produced 400,000 kg of clearable or “clean” waste, also referred to as construction and demolition (“C&D”) waste, which is  waste that has been verified as non-radioactive and suitable for conventional landfill. If CNL meets its 90 per cent diversion goal, which has been achievable at Chalk River and Douglas Point so far, then 360,000 kg of material will avoid landfill, at a minimum.

Also worth mentioning, the decommissioning teams have diverted nearly one hundred per cent of concrete generated from decommissioning at Chalk River Laboratories over the past two years, which is then processed for on-site reuse at Chalk River. For example, it has been repurposed for uses such as shoring for bank retention and is primarily processed into approved granular “A” and “B” aggregate products, replacing the need to purchase aggregate for many CNL projects.

Dilhari Fernando, CNL’s Chief Sustainability Strategy Officer, emphasized, “At CNL we are on a sustainability journey. Diversion efforts in our environmental remediation mission reflect how effective legacy waste management can drive real change. What we are doing here is an example of the kind of circularity that is essential in the transition to a net zero economy.”

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“While size and modularity contribute to the popularity of SMRs, these novel designs present scientists with some technical challenges,” says Dr. Krishna Podila, Thermalhydraulics Analyst, CNL. “One of the primary ones is ensuring computational tools and methods can be reliably used to meet design and safety objectives under accident scenarios. We’re dealing with compact, highly integrated systems with many of the concepts proposed for deployment – requiring much more computationally intensive simulation to model the multiple interacting physical processes happening simultaneously.”

The team’s development of such advanced computational code is part of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Federal Nuclear Science & Technology Work Plan – the ongoing project, “Development of an innovative approach for modelling and simulation of advanced micro-reactors for safety and licensing”.  As part of this particular project, they successfully paired three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics code: Siemens STAR-CCM+ with CNL’s one dimensional system thermalhydraulics code: ARIANT to execute coupled thermalhydraulics analyses. And they did this by leveraging CNL’s in-house high-performance computing facility (ATHENA), overcoming several challenges related to solution stability (the reliability of the codes) and accuracy crucial for the application of coupled simulations in optimizing design of current and next generation reactors.

“The deployment of SMRs will eventually require safety and licensing analyses, and this current work takes us that much closer to developing the reactor safety codes that can be used to better understand key phenomena and guide experiments,” says Podila. “It’s very exciting to be chartering Canada’s footprint globally in thermalhydraulics modelling of next generation reactors.”

Through the execution of these first-of-a-kind efforts, CNL has been able to increase its visibility amongst other national laboratory counterparts and experts in the field of thermalhydraulics. It’s also led to Canada’s participation as a full member in the Generation-IV Forum (GIF) Very High Temperature Computational Methods and Validation Benchmark (CMVB). GIF is an international cooperative focused on developing the research necessary to test the feasibility and performance of fourth generation nuclear systems, which includes SMRs.

As a next step, the thermalhydraulics team will be testing the coupled modelling code suite for problems that are ranked high in importance for reactor safety under an international thermalhydraulics benchmark that was co-organized by CNL and other leading international nuclear laboratories under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency.

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Chalk River Laboratories materials scientists teamed up with the decommissioning team at Canada’s first full-scale CANDU power plant — the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station —to further their research examining how a “non-refurbishable” CANDU reactor core component degrades over time.

Called the calandria vessel, this component is a large, cylindrical vessel containing the reactor core’s 400 to 500 fuel channels and heavy water moderator. Like other reactor core components, the calandria vessel receives radiation-induced damage that, over time, can accumulate and affect the properties and performance of the vessel, made of austenitic stainless steel.

But, unlike other reactor core components, the calandria vessel cannot be refurbished for logistical, technical, and cost-efficiency reasons. Therefore, these components must remain fit for service beyond their original design’s expectation of 60 effective full power years by another 40, as per the federal government’s decision to extend the current reactor fleet’s lifetime.

Last fall, researchers leveraged surrogate material from the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor that had undergone near identical conditions a CANDU calandria vessel would have to get an understanding of how radiation affected this material. At that time, there was no ex-service CANDU calandria material available to study.

However, that changed earlier this year, when researchers paired up with CNL’s reactor segmentation decommissioning group working at the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station, which is home to the 200-megawatt CANDU prototype reactor that ran from 1967 to 1984.

Footage of the fuel channels and the calandria vessel face inside the Douglas Point reactor

The decommissioning team had been in the process of collecting and characterizing materials from the reactor as part of their clean-up mission, with those collected materials destined to become radiological waste.

Now having partnered with researchers from science and technology, the collected materials will instead be archived in an ex-service materials “library” that can be used for research and development supporting both reactor long-term operation and reactor decommissioning.

These samples include one harvested from Douglas Point’s calandria vessel, which is now the only known sample of ex-service CANDU calandria vessel material made available for research.

This sample and the team’s work ahead is a first of its kind in Canada.

Their efforts will provide in-depth, realistic insights needed to assess and understand how non-refurbishable calandria vessels are performing in refurbished reactors and support larger decommissioning projects.

This research is funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s (AECL) Federal Nuclear Science & Technology (FNST) Work Plan, which connects federal organizations, departments, and agencies to the nuclear science expertise and facilities we have at Chalk River Laboratories.

Under the FNST Work Plan, our researchers carry out projects designed to support the Canadian government’s core responsibilities and priorities across the areas of health, safety and security, energy, and the environment.

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Unity-2 System Rendering.

Construction of the world’s first fully integrated, commercially relevant fusion fuel cycle – UNITY-2 is underway at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL), led by a joint venture between CNL and Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd (KF). The bright minds behind this industry leading project have joined forces to bring the proof of concept to life, establishing a fully integrated test platform for internal and external partners to see first-hand, validate, stress-test and evolve fit for purpose capabilities of UNITY-2 as a fueling system for fusion deployment globally. Various proponents of the technologies have demonstrated the fusion process in varying degrees of success at the lab scale. With each passing year the numbers are improving, fusion is sustained for longer periods*, the energy produced is closer to a net gain.  However, until one key challenge is unlocked, the goal of limitless clean energy remains out of reach. That challenge is the availability of tritium fuel, a key ingredient to a self-sustaining fusion fuel cycle.

Today, fusion reaction demonstration units rely on their facilities’ available inventory of tritium fuel, a scarce and limited resource. Once a test facility’s tritium has been used up, which happens quickly when the test loop is in operation, the fusion reaction cannot be maintained. Sustaining fusion beyond a few minutes will require the reactors to produce, or breed, tritium at a rate which is greater than what is used within the reaction itself and ultimately bring that tritium back into the fusion cycle. This is where UNITY-2 comes into the equation.

The global tritium availability in the civilian sector is currently to the order of tens of kilograms (e.g. approximately 30 kg, decaying) with current production only a few kilograms per year.  The requirement for a 1,000 MWe (≈1 GW) fusion reactor is typically projected at approximately 50–60 kg of tritium per year. Given this scale gap, relying on the supply chain for provision of this fuel is not an option, hence the importance of breeding and tritium conservation.

The CNL and KF joint venture, Fusion Fuel Cycles Inc. (FFC), is working to demonstrate a continuous fuel cycle loop via the UNITY-2 test facility. In this demonstration, a simulation of deuterium, tritium and helium gases, including selective extraction, recycling and purification of fusion fuel at reactor-like conditions will occur. The test facility will create the conditions for fusion fuel operation, establishing a continuous fuel source that returns the tritium within the test loop, allowing for fusion to be sustained for longer, eliminating the barrier that currently stands in the way of fusion reactors achieving limitless clean energy.

This system is particularly interesting to scientists because it will allow for the injection of different combinations of chemical compositions along with the tritium gas, enabling a wide range of handling technologies to be tweaked while exploring the impact of various contaminants in the process.

“Our facility here at CRL is globally unique,” explains Bryden Klein, the UNITY-2 operations representative and supervisor. “With financial support and by leveraging assets owned by AECL, UNITY-2 will combine unique expertise of both venture partners together into one powerhouse facility. Kyoto Fusioneering brings a distinct distribution in lead-lithium breeding proficiency and CNL offers world-class tritium handling, clean-up, storage, and balancing technology. This is exciting because together as FFC, we will leverage our existing licence and house the largest civilian inventory of tritium in the world. This gives CNL a unique advantage and allows us to manage the materials needed to operate UNITY-2 right here on site.”

Over the last few weeks, FFC has strengthened the future of its capstone project, through a US $20 million, ten-year strategic investment from General Atomics (GA). This long-term commitment will enable FFC to demonstrate the performance of UNITY-2’s critical components and subsystems, accelerating their advancement in technology readiness levels (TRLs) toward commercial deployment. More recently still, FCC secured a CA $20-million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Ltd (MUFG Bank). This loan in addition to the investment from GA will ensure the global fusion industry continues to grow and that tritium fuel cycle technologies can be tested, proven, and deployed at scale in real time.

Contracting and decommissioning teams have been hard at work preparing the site for the transition that will enable FFC to leverage the existing infrastructure. To prepare for this, on-site teams have been facilitating site safe intrusive sampling, planning and retrieval, in collaboration with waste categorization and operations teams.

Decommissioning personnel retrieve samples from a cryogenic system cold box alongside a radiation protection technician monitoring for contamination.

Taking a sneak peek inside, and specifically into the tower, you will find the decommissioning teams collecting samples for contamination analysis prior to the CECEUD’s dismantling and removal. Meanwhile on the outside, trailers are being erected by trade crews as a homebase within the protected side of site for these crews and engineering teams alike to move ahead on the project.

Decommissioning personnel collecting samples from existing systems.

As pre-construction and design planning progress, purchase orders for equipment and fabrication are beginning to come together as part of the larger installation process. The dismantling vendors and fabrication teams, both here at CRL and external partner teams, are preparing for these future steps in the process, including the development of pressure vessels and other common equipment that will be needed to complete the facility.

“The facility licencing aligns with the project scope and will enable us to move the project ahead in real time,” shares Todd Tallon, project supervisor overseeing planning and execution efforts. “We’re thrilled to be trending on-track with the dismantling phase and look forward to skid installations beginning next summer.”

With strategic investment from GA and additional financial commitments secured, FFC has strengthened the funding base for UNITY-2 to the already committed parent funding from CNL/AECL and Kyotofusioneering. As site preparations near completion, the project is transitioning from design into active construction, with work already underway this fall and expected to kick into high gear in late 2025. Commissioning of the UNITY-2 is anticipated in late 2026 with hiring for the project expected to begin shortly after to support commissioning and eventual operational activities in late 2026 and early 2027.

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A diagram visualizing the presence of uranium in ground water

Obvious kidney damage is the main thing scientists would expect to see in somebody who’s ingested a large amount of uranium. But what would they expect in somebody who’s consistently ingesting small amounts of the heavy metal?

That, the international research community isn’t absolutely certain about.

This chronic, low-dose context that Chalk River Laboratories researchers are investigating reflects the reality of communities whose drinking water supply relies on underground wells containing significant levels of uranium — a reality that Indigenous communities are at higher risk of facing because of the systemic barriers preventing sufficient drinking water infrastructure, monitoring, and treatment processes on reserves.

As part of this project being carried out for the Canadian federal government, the multidisciplinary team of researchers are working with experts from the Health Canada Radiation Protection Bureau to better understand how ingesting different concentrations of uranium affects the body over time. Their results will provide data that will inform whether the Canadian drinking water guidelines for natural uranium may need to be redefined.

In Canada, the maximum acceptable concentration for total natural uranium in drinking water is 0.02 milligrams per litre (mg/L). And this specific value originates from a study published in 1998 that analyzed the kidney-specific health effects seen in rats that were exposed to uranium-contaminated drinking water for three months.

Years later, though, this study’s results would conflict with those from a study done by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and the French nuclear safety and radiation protection authority, the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire et de radioprotection (ASNR), in 2014.

This joint project exposed rats to drinking water that contained concentrations of natural uranium up to 25,000-30,000 times greater than the Canadian guideline value — between 500 mg/L to 600 mg/L — and the researchers observed no signs of kidney toxicity.

“The results from these studies differing not only suggests that Canada’s current guidelines could be extremely overprotective, but it also highlights how important it is to be able to reproduce data across multiple laboratories when it’s being used to set regulatory guidelines,” explains the project’s technical lead, CNL biologist and biochemist Laura Bannister.

Uranium drinking water guideline values also fluctuate greatly around the world, further pointing to the lack of a unified, global understanding of how exactly the kidneys are affected by chronically ingesting low doses of uranium.

A diagram visualizing the animal study

“Being exposed to high doses of uranium over a short period of time damages the kidneys — but it’s mainly the heavy metal’s chemical composition that creates that damage, as opposed to its radioactive nature,” says CNL radiobiology researcher Qi Qi.

When ingested, some of that uranium gets absorbed into the bloodstream through the gut. These uranium ions then travel to the kidneys for filtration, but these heavy metal ions have a tendency to bind to cellular components in these tissues. Essentially stuck there, that uranium can then accumulate and disrupt or completely block cellular processes because the body doesn’t know how to excrete it. This can then lead to compromised kidney function, he explains.

Leveraging an internationally-recognized oral toxicity testing method from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the current research project exposed cohorts of rats to drinking water containing different concentrations of uranium for three months to investigate how it affected their kidneys, as well as whether the exposure caused any other biological changes that indicated harm, called biomarkers.

The team completed the project’s required 90-day exposure period this spring, which specifically tested the cohorts for dose-responses to uranium concentrations of 0 mg/L, 500 mg/L, 1,000 mg/L, and 2,500 mg/L. This included a cohort that was exposed to the highest concentration and then analyzed at 28 days, as well as a cohort that was exposed to the highest concentration and then returned to normal drinking for a month afterwards to understand if observed toxic effects could be reversed.

Though further analysis and validation is underway, researchers have already observed that the rats’ biological responses were different depending on whether they were male or female, as well as which dose of uranium they were exposed to — especially at the two higher concentrations. They observed and tracked these differences while measuring the rats’ body weights, organ weights, and blood and urine biomarkers throughout the exposure period.

“This research and its future results will help clarify the risks of chronic uranium ingestion and inform regulatory values. The work also has broader significance for Indigenous health equity and supports larger international efforts to develop science-based drinking water standards and kidney toxicity pathways,” says Qi.

This research is funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s (AECL) Federal Nuclear Science & Technology (FNST) work plan program, which connects federal organizations, departments, and agencies to the nuclear science expertise and facilities we have at Chalk River Laboratories.

Under this program, our researchers carry out projects designed to support the Canadian government’s core responsibilities and priorities across the areas of health, safety and security, energy, and the environment.

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As Canada progresses in its quest towards clean energy, hydrogen continues to stand out as a powerful energy carrier. The research exploring its potential applications stretches across electricity generation, long-haul transport, energy storage, and more.

And, like any fuel, hydrogen must be handled safely, especially because it’s extremely flammable.

Though rare, an outdoor explosion can happen when hydrogen gas is accidentally released from containment and ignited. This could happen at a hydrogen refueling station, an industrial facility, or even on the road during transport, for example. But, compared to explosions that happen in confined space, those that happen in the “open air” have a greater likelihood of potentially impacting the public, making it even more essential to mitigate risks.

This is why a research team at Chalk River Laboratories is using computational modelling to better understand and provide the data needed to prevent such events — open-air hydrogen explosions and their resulting pressure and shockwaves that blast whatever is in their path.

Researchers developed their own advanced computer models to simulate how an outdoor explosion impacts nearby structures, using data from a real-world experiment involving controlled hydrogen detonations near reinforced concrete walls as their benchmark.

What sets their model apart is how it combines multiple scientific disciplines to more accurately capture what happens during an explosion. It blends together fluid and thermal dynamics, structural mechanics, and chemistry.

“Many empirical models skip over the chemistry because of how complex it can be,” explains Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) materials scientist Yuqing Ding.

Their team’s model, though, includes simplified chemistry that gives it the ability to efficiently capture the true behaviour of the explosion. And when the team compared their simulations to the actual experimental results, they found that their approach reasonably matched reality, validating that their model can reliably inform safety, risk, and engineering design assessments.

By virtually simulating such scenarios, their work opens the door to accurately and efficiently predicting forces generated by the blasts — without needing expensive, time-consuming physical tests or a supercomputer. Tools like these are essential to managing risks and building public confidence while hydrogen becomes a cornerstone of Canada’s clean energy future.

This research is funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s (AECL) Federal Nuclear Science & Technology (FNST) work plan program, which connects federal organizations, departments, and agencies to the nuclear science expertise and facilities we have at Chalk River Laboratories.

Under this program, our researchers carry out projects designed to support the Canadian government’s core responsibilities and priorities across the areas of health, safety and security, energy, and the environment.

The post Paving the way to a safe, hydrogen-fuelled future — Chalk River Laboratories investigating hydrogen explosions to better protect people, infrastructure appeared first on Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.

Over the last year, the project funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Federal Nuclear Science & Technology (FNST) Work Plan, transitioned from concept to build. The team has been steadily refining the design by constructing and testing prototypes for key aspects of the design and gathering feedback from other teams at CNL who could deploy the portable manipulator in their work. They have also completed the detailed design of the electro-mechanical subsystems and made significant progress on the manipulator’s control system. Part of this work includes the design and development of “the mini arm”, a simplified and scaled down version of the portable manipulator, primarily being used to test out developments made to the control system.

One of the most significant challenges the team faced this year was achieving the desired motion and accuracy of the end effector or the tool attached at the end of the robotic arm. The portable manipulator utilizes electric motors to drive the motion of the robotic joints, and these must be commanded simultaneously to position the end effector to work effectively. This is no small feat with a control system comprised of multiple pieces of software needing to work together to provide real-time, smooth motion of the end effector(s).

To give you a sense of the manipulator’s functionality, seven custom end effectors have been designed to-date, including: a modified off-the-shelf robotic gripper for general purpose dexterous tasks, three radiation measurement tools for measuring beta and gamma radiation and gathering gamma spectroscopy data, a contamination swipe tool to understand loose contamination hazards, as well as modified drill and oscillating saw end effectors for acquiring material samples.

The team also made significant progress on the integration of the mechanical and electrical hardware, sensors and both off-the-shelf and custom software. Given the portable manipulator needs to be controlled remotely, without direct operator viewing, feedback on the position of the portable manipulator is performed entirely through position feedback sensors, onboard cameras, the use of a digital twin, and digital haptic feedback. This is where the mini arm was fully leveraged to demonstrate coordinated motion of all six DoFs, real-time coordination of the mini arm and the digital twin, motion of the mini arm through pre-planned motion paths, and real-time control of the mini arm using a haptic-feedback input device.

So what’s next? As the project enters its final year within its current FNST funding allotment, all focus is on building and testing a full-scale prototype. This 1-to-1 scale prototype will be assembled at Chalk River Laboratories where the team can refine their design even further and demonstrate their system. One of the great advantages to this system is its flexibility, which can lead to faster deployment of tools into the field.

“The portable manipulator is innovating the field of decommissioning,” says Read. “Instead of designing a fully custom suite of remote tooling for a new application, we can potentially design a simple end effector to address that custom application. The major advantage here is schedule improvement since designing a custom end effector requires significantly less effort than designing a fully customized articulating arm.”

The portable manipulator can acquire characterization data with minimal modifications to a facility.  It can be assembled and deployed through a six-inch diameter cored hole in the surrounding walls or ceiling, giving teams a six DoF robotic arm in the high-hazard environment, while the worker operates it remotely from a low-hazard area. A second cored hole supports the deployment of the tool elevator, which is used to shuffle custom end effectors into the high-hazard area where the portable manipulator can pick up the end effector and progress to the next stage of work.

Learn more about the portable manipulator from when it was first introduced at CNL https://www.cnl.ca/could-space-be-the-final-frontier-for-this-novel-robotic-manipulator/

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