The 40th Annual Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS) conference was held June 6th to June 9th. The four-day, online event featured plenaries and technical workshops on current Candu performance. It also brought forward a view of a future which is already much under development.
There were nuclear scientists, innovators and operators at the CNS but there were also the people who stand to benefit the most from nuclear power in its increasingly diverse uses. And there were the people who connect the two groups.
Seamus O’Regan is the Canadian Minister of Natural resources. He opened the conference, reconfirming the Canadian government’s inclusion of nuclear in its clean energy plant. He stated, “We need an all-energy sources approach and that includes nuclear.” O’Regan referenced International Energy Agency reports as he described the up-hill battle to reduce carbon emissions if nuclear were not included in the energy mix. He said, “We need nuclear to get to net zero.”
In Ontario and New Brunswick in Canada and six other countries, Candu nuclear plants provide the backbone of the electrical grids. The first plenary covered the state of operations and provided updates on refurbishment project that are currently under way. Some Candu reactors will operate until the mid-2060s after they are refurbished. Candu reactors also supply isotopes for crucial life-saving nuclear medicine as well as finding other uses such food sterilization.
The second plenary of the CNS was dedicated to the future of nuclear in energy and technology systems. The development of nuclear power in Canada is being driven by increasing interest from Canadian provinces who want to include small modular reactors (SMRs) in their future energy mix. This interest is supported by efforts of SMR design vendors and an active Canadian supply chain.
Kinectrics is a life cycle management company headquartered in Canada. They used the CNS to announce their plans to build and operate Helius. Helius is an innovation campus and testing facility that will advance nuclear applications such as molten salt thermal energy storage, hydrogen generation, industrial and district heating and water treatment.
The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories talked about its recent science and technology developments in collaboration with industry partners and laboratories worldwide. Their current work focuses on progress in SMRs, using nuclear power for hydrogen production and reactor sustainability.
Although CNS is a mostly a technical organization, the conference did make room to discuss social aspects. These included how to develop communication pathways to engage a spectrum of civil society on next generation nuclear technology and how to maximize the benefits of nuclear across society.
Many organizations are working with Canadian First Nations and other indigenous peoples to share information and learn from their unique perspectives and traditional knowledge.
Threaded through conversations in several sessions were the work being done to attract more women to the industry, to improve equity, diversity and inclusion as well as the importance of working with indigenous peoples in all projects.
The 45th annual CNS / Canadian Nuclear Association Student Conference is held in conjunction with the CNS conference each year.