Canadian partnership for microreactor deployment

20 March 2024

Prodigy Clean Energy and Des Nëdhé Group - an Indigenous Economic Development Corporation - have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop opportunities to power remote mines and communities in Canada using Prodigy microreactor Transportable Nuclear Power Plants.

Conceptual illustration of Prodigy’s Microreactor Power Station TNPP. Variant is marine transported and coastally installed on land (Image: Prodigy)

Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Prodigy and Des Nëdhé will explore potential Transportable Nuclear Power Plant (TNPPs) projects, and engage with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis across Canada, identifying ways in which Indigenous Peoples could have ownership in TNPP new builds, and how an Indigenous workforce could take a leading role in TNPP commercialisation and strategic infrastructure development.

"This collaboration represents a significant step forward in increasing opportunities for economic reconciliation, and expanding Indigenous leadership in Canada's clean energy transition," Prodigy said.

According to Prodigy, "The potential for innovation and growth in the North is limitless. Boasting nearly 40% of Canada's land mass, thousands of kilometres of rugged coastline and meandering rivers, vast reserves of metals and minerals, rich Indigenous culture and traditions, and some of the best spots in the world to watch the Northern lights, remote regions of Canada and the North are ripe for economic development."

However, it added: "‍The missing piece needed to actualise Northern industrial growth is abundant supply of clean and affordable energy ... Poor energy infrastructure and subsequent limited access to essential services and resources have created a cycle of disenfranchisement for generations - and more recently, climate-affected changes to the environment increasingly threaten Indigenous cultural traditions and opportunities for sustainable local economies."

Montreal-based Prodigy said that deploying microreactor TNPPs will "not only revolutionise the Northern energy landscape, but also catalyse economic reconciliation by supplanting historic reliance on diesel."

The Prodigy Microreactor Power Station TNPP, which can integrate different types of microreactors, would be manufactured, outfitted, and partially commissioned in a shipyard, then transported to site for installation either on land or in a marine (shoreside) setting. Prodigy is collaborating with Westinghouse to develop a TNPP outfitted with the Westinghouse eVinci microreactor.

The eVinci microreactor is described as a "small battery" for decentralised generation markets and for microgrids, such as remote communities, remote industrial mines and critical infrastructure. The nominal 5 MWe heat pipe reactor, which has a heat capability of 14 MWt, features a design that Westinghouse says provides competitive and resilient power as well as superior reliability with minimal maintenance. The Prodigy Microreactor Power Station can integrate a single or multiple eVinci microreactors.

Mathias Trojer, president and CEO of Prodigy Clean Energy, said: "Prodigy's microreactor TNPP offers a near-term solution to transition remote locations off of diesel. Meeting Indigenous Peoples' requirements for TNPP design and energy delivery, and ensuring maximal participation of Indigenous groups as part of our technology development and commercialisation programmes, are cornerstone to our success. We are privileged to partner with Des Nëdhé to put these objectives into action."

"Ensuring a secure, carbon-free, and affordable electricity and heat supply for all of Canada is crucial, and SMRs will play a significant role," said Sean Willy, Des Nëdhé Group president and CEO. "Des Nëdhé is proud to partner with Prodigy, as their TNPP technologies address many of the upfront concerns that Indigenous groups have when considering a potential SMR project. This includes minimising the environmental impact and reducing the project life cycle complexity and cost, when compared to a traditional site-constructed SMR. The end use opportunity for TNPPs across remote industrial and residential power in Canada is very significant."

Canadian township signs potential repository hosting agreement

21 March 2024

The agreement between the Township of Ignace and Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization outlines the community's role and potential benefits, and is the next step in the ongoing process to select a site for a repository for the nation's used nuclear fuel.

Mayor Kim Baigrie (on the left) and NWMO President and CEO Laurie Swami sign the agreement (Image: NWMO)

The Ignace Council unanimously passed a resolution on 18 March to allow Mayor Kim Baigrie to sign the potential hosting agreement for the Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).

"We are proudly the first community in this willingness process to be out of the gate with NWMO by signing this historic agreement for the Township of Ignace," Baigrie said. "We certainly understand that the signing of this agreement does not mean that we are going to host a DGR or that we have decided as a community on our willingness to host a DGR. What it means is that we now have an accurate, clear, concise and signed agreement with NWMO of the economic and social components that we must consider as we decide to move forward on willingness."

The agreement is the "next logical step" in the process of staying engaged and advancing the willingness process.

The agreement will allow the Township to facilitate the DGR by building capacities to enable it to undertake tasks that will be assigned to it through the regulatory process to host the project. The new agreement is similar to, and will replace, the current Multi-Year Funding Agreement between the Township and NWMO but will provide more direct benefits to the community through the complete life cycle of the DGR project, the council said.

The NWMO launched the process to select a suitable site for the DGR for Canada's used nuclear fuel in 2010. The selected site must have the support of "informed and willing" hosts, and some 22 communities expressed interest in taking part in the process. In 2020, the NWMO announced that it had narrowed down the potential host site to two areas: the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON)-Ignace area; and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area. Both are in Ontario.

The council said it expects to make a final decision "in mid-2024". It noted that the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation "will also have its own willingness process and the Township of Ignace respects that their decision will also be required to proceed".

Researched and written by World Nuclear News