News
U-Battery sets forth its recommendations for the upcoming Canadian and Ontario government budgets
16 October 2020
U-Battery has recommended that the Governments of Canada and Ontario establish dedicated funding programs for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) developers to leverage nuclear innovation to help start the road to recovery from COVID-19.
The submissions, made as part of each government’s budget consultation process, outline the wider benefits of such an investment, including:
- Greater, low carbon, energy security and resilience
- Fortifying manufacturing and expert nuclear services and jobs
- Securing the global presence of the Canadian nuclear supply chain
- Creating a pipeline of attractive, inclusive, diverse, global talent
U-Battery’s advanced SMR can enable a broad range of energy-intensive industries, including mining operations, as well as northern and remote communities to be self-sufficient by accessing a clean, local, low-carbon, cost-effective and safe alternative to fossil fuel generation. More specifically, the SMR is designed as a cogeneration unit to produce heat and power, emissions-free, with the capabilities to facilitate hydrogen production and desalination.
Recent milestones in Canada include:
- Progress through pre-qualification stage of the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ invitation to site an SMR demonstration projects at their Chalk River facility
- Participation in Natural Resource Canada’s SMR Action Plan
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bruce Power
- Service agreement with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for pre-licensing vendor design review.
U-Battery is taking a dual-track approach of exploring the potential in Canada and the United Kingdom, developing an innovative, market-ready solution designed to address the emerging energy needs, as well as sustainability and carbon reduction policies, in both countries.
About U-Battery
U-Battery is an advanced/small modular reactor, capable of providing a low-carbon, cost-effective, locally embedded and reliable source of power and heat for energy intensive industry and remote locations. It is being developed by Urenco in collaboration with a number of supporting organisations and has received funding from the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's Energy Innovation Portfolio.
