'Great opportunities ahead' for fuel cycle

Thursday, 10 April 2025

Kicking off the annual event in Montreal on 9 April, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) President and CEO Nicolle Butcher and Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel explored Canada's nuclear energy experiences, from Ontario's phaseout of coal-fired generation over a decade ago to plans for new nuclear capacity including four small modular reactors (SMRs) and other new capacity.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission recently announced its decision to authorise the first of those SMRs, but OPG's new build ambitions will be underpinned by a domestic supply chain that has been built and honed over the course of the 10-year project to refurbish the existing Darlington reactors, Butcher said. Keeping these major infrastructure projects on time and on budget has needed innovation, teamwork and investment, but success in refurbishment underpins OPG's confidence to go out and build SMRs, she said. In total, some CAD25 billion (USD17.8 billion) has been invested in Ontario's nuclear supply chain in the course of the refurbishment projects at OPG and Bruce Power's plants, and that supply chain is already in place and ready to support new build projects.

Gitzel pointed to a changing narrative that has gone from an emphasis on energy security to national security, and now - for the USA, at least - energy dominance. Cameco's 2023 acquisition of Westinghouse was perhaps a "risky" move at the time, but the company is "all in" on nuclear, Gitzel said, and means the company now has the "full suite" of technologies. "Canada has got all the elements to be a nuclear powerhouse, and that's what we're going to be," he said.

With growing support both politically and socially, and involvement of new end-users such as tech companies, the panellists were upbeat about the outlook for nuclear. "It is certainly good" to have diverse stakeholders supporting nuclear efforts, Bilbao y León said, as this brings "great opportunity". But the nuclear industry must work together to ensure the construction of many, many units beyond first, second and third of a kind, she said.

Staying global
 

The industry needs to stand "shoulder to shoulder" to ensure such success in responding to the opportunities for nuclear which "have never been better", Gitzel said.

And the nuclear industry has to remain global, Butcher said. "I don't think there's a technology anywhere that can be done within one country. We will always rely on other countries." OPG's SMR project, for example, will see Canadian reactors for the first time requiring uranium enrichment services - which are not available in Canada. "To be successful, we as an industry really have to step up above the politics and remain a global industry," she said.

Nuclear fuel cycle services will be needed to support a tripling of nuclear energy capacity. Cameco has maintained its strategy of supply discipline and the 5-10 year visibility offered by new build projects means it will be able to react in time to meet the demand. There is scope for production increases from the company's Tier 1 assets, and there are other assets on standby - including the Rabbit Lake mine and assets in Wyoming and Nebraska - that Cameco could bring online "if the market calls for it", Gitzel said.

"It all starts with the fuel cycle. Without the uranium, there is no nuclear," Gitzel said.

Moving forward with ambitious plans it is essential to look at all the pieces of the fuel puzzle, Bilbao y León concluded. "So yes, we will be building the reactors. But we will make sure that we have the fuel … and the entire system that is needed to make that happen," she said.

World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2025, co-organised by the Nuclear Energy Institute and World Nuclear Association, is taking place in Montreal, Canada, from 9-10 April.