Michael Joel-Hansen
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
In the push to decarbonize power generation in Canada, many provinces have begun to explore deploying nuclear power to help eliminate carbon-emitting sources, just as many countries are doing.
The looming expansion of nuclear power generation is leading to growth in the uranium mining industry in northern Saskatchewan, but some industry observers are pointing to another pressing area in need of further development: the enrichment of uranium.
Esam Hussein, an emeritus professor at the University of Regina’s Department of Engineering and Applied Science who has done extensive research on nuclear energy, said a number of provinces, including Saskatchewan, are looking to deploy reactors that will require enriched uranium to generate power.
This would mark a change from history since Canadian utilities have generally deployed Candu reactors that do not require uranium to be enriched.
“Candu reactors have the advantage of using natural uranium,” he said.
Natural uranium is refined at Cameco Corp.’s conversion facility in Port Hope, Ont., and it can then be used to fuel Candu nuclear reactors.
There currently aren’t any facilities in Canada able to enrich uranium, which is a process where the presence of U235 isotopes is increased in order to power many other nuclear reactors, including newer technologies such as the eVinci Micro Reactor, which is currently under development.
Hussein said access to enriched uranium is crucial if these reactors are to be deployed.
“If you don’t have access to that highly enriched uranium, you’re not going to be able to adopt any of those technologies,” he said.
Hussein said if Canada does not develop enrichment capacity to power non-Candu reactors, it will have to acquire enriched uranium from jurisdictions outside Canada, such as the United States and Europe.
He said this will also mean Canada has to ship uranium abroad to have it enriched and become a value-added commodity.
“Then, we will have to buy it back, and that doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.
If Canada is not prepared or able to develop uranium enrichment capacity, Hussein said it would be wise for Canadian utilities to instead look to deploy Candu reactors, which have been serving the country well and have a firmly established domestic supply chain.
“If we don’t go (the) enrichment route, then why don’t we rely on our indigenous technology?” he said.
A number of steps need to be taken, including on the legislative front, to lay the groundwork to build up Canada’s enrichment capacity.
Juzel Lloyd, a climate and energy analyst at the Breakthrough Institute, a California-based think tank that aims to advance technological solutions for environmental challenges, said the federal government can help by making legislative changes, specifically ones that lay out clear guidance for what those engaging in enrichment need to do in terms of regulation.
“Some sort of regulatory framework,” she said.
Lloyd said the federal government could also help the process by providing support to major industry players, including Cameco, to incorporate enrichment capabilities into their fuel supply chain operations, which she said is well established.
“Cameco is already a top company at what it does,” she said.
Canada developing uranium enrichment capabilities would also have some geopolitical implications. Lloyd said
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led many countries to turn away from Russian uranium and nuclear fuel, which provides an opportunity for Canada to step in.
“A lot of these allies are looking for alternatives for their enriched uranium supply,” she said.
Lloyd said another factor to consider is that many developing nations are looking to deploy nuclear power to help meet their energy needs. These countries, including Egypt and Bangladesh, have been looking to Russia to supply reactors as well as nuclear fuel.
She said the international ramifications make it all the more vital for there to be more discussion in Canada about growing uranium enrichment capacity.
“Canada’s potential to develop enrichment capacity and help supply these needs, including its own eventual needs and the needs of its allies, is really important to discuss right now,” she said.
