Westinghouse, Aecon team up for nuclear new build projects

Thursday, 19 December 2024

Under a strategic cooperation agreement, Westinghouse and Aecon will work together on opportunities for the construction of AP1000 power plants in markets throughout Canada. Meanwhile, under a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Aecon can build on its experience of supplying AP1000 modules and nuclear components for the Vogtle plant in Georgia, USA, and other projects to potentially expand the supply of key AP1000 and advanced nuclear reactor components to projects in Canada and abroad.

Leveraging its fabrication and modularisation facility in Cambridge, Ontario, Aecon previously provided fabrication services of critical nuclear class AP1000 modules for the Vogtle unit 3 and 4 project, and on-site specialised welding services.

Headquartered in Ontario, Aecon is a North American construction and infrastructure development company and is a Tier 1 Canadian constructor with significant nuclear experience. Westinghouse said Aecon will support its advanced nuclear technologies to "provide a way to quickly deploy significant new nuclear to meet economic, environmental and energy security needs in Canada and globally".

"With extensive nuclear EPC expertise, strong technical knowledge, as well as specialised nuclear fabrication and manufacturing solutions tailored to meet the stringent demands of the North American nuclear power industry, Aecon is at the forefront of delivering nuclear infrastructure," said Aecon Nuclear Senior Vice President Aaron Johnson. "We are proud of our role in advancing the energy transition to help ensure the supply of clean, reliable and affordable electricity for generations to come. We look forward to collaborating with Westinghouse through these framework agreements as we continue supporting our clients in their technology selection and deployment."

Westinghouse Energy Systems President Dan Lipman said: "By partnering with Aecon, we are underscoring our commitment to helping to ensure that nuclear new-build projects of all scales will benefit the Canadian economy by employing local trades and creating jobs in Canada. For each four-unit AP1000 project Westinghouse builds in Canada, we expect to create nearly 8000 Canadian jobs during construction and another 12,000 full-time jobs for ongoing operations."

"With Canada's urgent need to bring more nuclear generation online to meet its objectives, the proven, fully operational AP1000 reactor becomes the natural choice because it can be deployed now," said John Gorman, president of Westinghouse Canada. "Today's agreement with Aecon further strengthens Westinghouse's construction and supplier relationships across Canada with an experienced AP1000 project partner to ensure it can move quickly to meet the nation's requirements."

Westinghouse - now owned by Canada's Brookfield and Cameco - noted the agreements with Aecon are the latest in a series of agreements with Canadian firms "that provide opportunities for expansion and diversification by supporting Westinghouse's advanced nuclear technologies globally".

Earlier this month, Westinghouse signed an MoU with BWXT Canada for the potential manufacture of key AP1000 and AP300 reactor components, including steam generators, reactor vessels, pressure vessels and heat exchangers.

In October, Westinghouse and Vancouver-based shipbuilding firm Seaspan ULC announced they had signed an MoU to support nuclear new-build projects in Canada and around the world. Under the agreement, Seaspan has the potential to manufacture key AP1000 and AP300 reactor components, including pipe spools and steel structures.

Westinghouse opened a new global engineering hub in Kitchener, Ontario, in June this year to support its growing Candu and global new-build business. Canada, it said, is now the third largest engineering centre for the AP1000.

In February, Westinghouse released a comprehensive, independent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers outlining the significant economic impact from deploying four AP1000 reactors in Ontario. Their deployment could have an impact of more than CAD28.7 billion (USD20 billion) on Canada's GDP during the manufacturing, engineering and construction phase alone, the study found.