Canadian and UK scientists forge closer ties

Wednesday, 28 November 2018

Mark Lesinski, president and chief executive officer of CNL, and Andrew Storer, chief executive of the Nuclear AMRC, signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Canada-UK Energy Summit in London, an annual private sector conference that seeks to expand ties between the energy sectors of the two countries.

Under the agreement, CNL said it will join the Nuclear AMRC as a tier one member.

Lesinski said that both organisations are committed to fighting climate change through the advancement of clean energy technologies.

"For CNL, membership offers tremendous benefits, including access to unique capabilities and training programmes, participation in cutting-edge manufacturing innovation projects, and networking opportunities with some of the world's leading nuclear organisations," he said. "In turn, CNL can offer the Nuclear AMRC access to our expertise and facilities from a wide range of nuclear science and technology disciplines."

CNL’s Chalk River Laboratories campus is home to facilities and nuclear services ranging from research and development, design and engineering to specialised technology, waste management and decommissioning.
Storer said strengthening their collaboration is a testament to the longstanding relationship between the UK and Canada in driving innovation in the global civil nuclear industry.

"Working closely with CNL will give us access to world-renowned engineering expertise and additional manufacturing research programmes linked to the development of small modular and Candu reactor technologies. We look forward to building a prosperous partnership with CNL in the years to come," he said.

The two organisations intend to collaborate in fields including materials characterisation and performance, and advanced manufacturing methods for small modular reactor safety-critical components.

CNL is undergoing a major transformation, funded by a USD1.2 billion investment from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited on behalf of the government of Canada, to revitalise its Chalk River campus and renew its science and technology programmes, Lesinski said.

"As part of this transformation, we are working to develop new products and services that include the deployment of SMRs, the use of hydrogen to decarbonise Canada's transportation sector, the development of new methods to fabricate next-generation nuclear fuels, and many others. These programmes are ambitious in scope, and will certainly require the expertise and technologies of key partners - such as the Nuclear AMRC and their UK-based membership - to fully realise their potential," he said.

Canada and the UK established a laboratory in Montreal in the 1940s to begin research into the creation of controlled nuclear power. Most recently, CNL signed an MoU with the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory in 2016 to collaborate on a variety of projects in the areas of reactor metallurgy, fuel development, waste management and medical radioisotopes.