Interesting! the fuel sovereignty argument is the one that doesn't get enough attention in Western nuclear policy discussions. Every country running a light water reactor is dependent on enriched uranium fuel from a handful of suppliers, a supply chain vulnerability that looks very different post-2022 than it did before. CANDU's ability to run on natural uranium, fabricated domestically, with no enrichment dependency is a geopolitical asset as much as an engineering one. That alone should be a serious factor in Ontario's technology decision, independent of the cost comparison with AP1000.
Another great episode. Just yesterday Atkins Realis submitted a Notice of Intent to the NRC for pre-application licensing process for its CANDU reactor technology in the United States. Could get interesting.
The Korean APR-1400 may be the best western competitor to the Candu, with early builds of the AP-1000 seemingly guaranteed to cost a lot. Unlike the AP-1000 the APR doesn't have similar passive cooling characteristics - making the Candu the clear front-runner for me
With all its virtues, why isn't CANDU a larger share of the global nuclear fleet?
Interesting! the fuel sovereignty argument is the one that doesn't get enough attention in Western nuclear policy discussions. Every country running a light water reactor is dependent on enriched uranium fuel from a handful of suppliers, a supply chain vulnerability that looks very different post-2022 than it did before. CANDU's ability to run on natural uranium, fabricated domestically, with no enrichment dependency is a geopolitical asset as much as an engineering one. That alone should be a serious factor in Ontario's technology decision, independent of the cost comparison with AP1000.
Another great episode. Just yesterday Atkins Realis submitted a Notice of Intent to the NRC for pre-application licensing process for its CANDU reactor technology in the United States. Could get interesting.
Yes. If only more Canadians knew how great our nuclear reactors and uranium industry is !
In typical Canadian fashion none of this is Promoted and Celebrated!
The Korean APR-1400 may be the best western competitor to the Candu, with early builds of the AP-1000 seemingly guaranteed to cost a lot. Unlike the AP-1000 the APR doesn't have similar passive cooling characteristics - making the Candu the clear front-runner for me