Darlington SMR contract awarded to Candu Energy

Thursday, 29 May 2025

AtkinsRéalis is providing Ontario Power Generation (OPG) with expertise for the engineering of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR). This includes project management, licensing, engineering, design, procurement, construction support and commissioning, as well as digital delivery capabilities in both the nuclear island and balance of plant scopes for the project, the company said.

"As a world-class engineering services and nuclear organisation, we are advocates for the role of SMRs in the energy mix to create stable, affordable, and reliable power grids," AtkinsRéalis President and CEO Ian Edwards said, adding that the company's involvement in the first grid-scale SMR to be built in a G7 country - and Canada's first nuclear new build in roughly 30 years - "reaffirms our leading position in the global nuclear energy market, for both large and small reactor technologies."

AtkinsRéalis has been the architect-engineer on the Darlington New Nuclear Project alliance team since 2023 and is working alongside reactor vendor GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) and Aecon Kiewit Nuclear Partners, which was awarded a construction contract for the execution phase of the project earlier in May.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued a construction licence for the first SMR at the project in April, and the government of Ontario gave its approval for construction to begin on 8 May. Site preparation work - under an earlier validation phase contract - has already been completed on time and on budget.

"AtkinsRéalis is a long-time trusted partner to OPG, including on the on-time, on-budget Darlington Refurbishment Project," said OPG President and CEO Nicolle Butcher. She said the companies will draw on their shared experience for success at the Darlington New Nuclear Project.

"Ontario's power demand is expected to surge by 75% by 2050 and we'll need all sources of cleaner power to meet the need, including large and small nuclear reactor technology," said Joe St Julian, President, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis. "Together with our alliance partners, we will ensure Canada continues to lead the G7 in advancing the use of SMR technology, as AtkinsRéalis also continues to support international SMR projects in the UK, US, and Poland."

The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GVH's 1500 MW ESBWR boiling water reactor.