Overview
Babcock Canada is pleased to respond to NRCan’s SMR Action Plan and is eager to play a central role in moving this ambitious program forward in a meaningful way.
Our parent company Babcock International Group is a large, multinational, UK based engineering and technology company supporting major public sector programs in Marine, Aviation, Land and Nuclear. With over 35,000 employees worldwide, we hope to bring a breath and depth of experience that can support the large scale deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) in key markets such as Canada, UK and others.
In Canada, we hope to leverage our 500 employees in Marine and Aviation across the country and build a significant footprint in civil nuclear power in supporting on-going nuclear programs as well and new areas like SMRs. We see this program as a significant opportunity to grow our Canadian nuclear workforce and provide high quality employment for Canadians.
We are very encouraged by the steps taken forward by the federal and provincial governments to set in place the policy and regulatory framework to enable this industry to grow in Canada over the next decade and help to achieve its target of Net Zero carbon emissions as well as enabling Indigenous and Northern development.
Babcock Canada is deeply committed to the Statement of Principles laid out in the SMR action plan and looks forward to define its role in partnership with government and as a leader within the industry. We see our role as a technology enabler, supporting a new generation of Small and Advanced Modular Reactor technologies by leveraging our experience in nuclear design, design for manufacture and for decommissioning, licencing and waste management strategy, advanced manufacturing and modular construction.
We are currently engaged with SMR vendors in Canada and the UK to explore partnerships on how we can support multiple design programs and are actively engaged in SMR demonstration work in the UK. Our global footprint can also act as a bridge between markets such as UK and Australia to consider multinational deployment models.
For Babcock, our vision for a successful SMR industry in Canada entails multiple, successful demonstration projects in the next decade followed by commitments from utilities and other commercial end users in Canada and abroad to follow shortly after. These projects need to demonstrate commercial viability, first of a kind risk mitigation and significant economic benefit to Canada.
We view the demonstration projects to come to operation in the mid to late 2020’s with subsequent commercial deployment commencing in the early 2030’s. These forecasts are based on optimal conditions being put into place over the next 2 years and could be accelerated or deferred based on the policy trajectory. We acknowledge that Canada is at a crossroads in its opportunity to play a leadership role in global SMR deployment and are adamant that the time is now for clear policy commitment to place us on the right path to a low carbon future and we are ready to play our role as an industry partner.
ACTIONS
DEMONSTRATION AND DEPLOYMENT
SMR vendors and utilities to execute demonstration and deployment
STATUS: IN PROGRESS
BAB01
Responds to SMR Roadmap recommendation(s): 38, 40, 41, 42, 46, 47
ACTION
- Explore opportunities to provide engineering services, technology and manufacturing capabilities that will enable SMR demonstration
- Identify cross sector opportunities within Babcock Canada to explore new markets for SMR deployment
EXPECTED RESULTS
Engagement, support and possible investment in one or more SMR vendor identified programs Identification and engagement of non-traditional clients (defence, non-nuclear utilities) to explore SMR deployment.
POLICY, LEGISLATION, AND REGULATION
Industry input on appropriate policy, legislation and regulation to enable demonstration
STATUS: IN PROGRESS
BAB02
Responds to SMR Roadmap recommendation(s): 05, 25, 32, 36, 37, 44, 50
ACTION
- Participation and leadership in Industry forums (e.g. Canadian Nuclear Association, Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries, Candu Owners Group) that enable meaningful input from suppliers
- Facilitate regulatory harmonization by benchmarking Canadian and UK regulatory approaches to SMRs
- Engage other Government of Canada stakeholders (ISED, DND, etc.) that have an interest in supporting deployment
EXPECTED RESULTS
Develop a full spectrum of stakeholder inputs necessary for successful SMR deployment Streamlining the regulatory approach that enables a broad multinational deployment program Enhanced engagement from other interested departments within the Federal Government
CAPACITY, ENGAGEMENT, AND PUBLIC CONFIDENCE
Leadership positions in Youth, Women and Indigenous nuclear forums
STATUS: IN PROGRESS
BAB03
Responds to SMR Roadmap recommendation(s): 39, 49, 43
ACTION
- Promote and placement of Leadership positions in Women in Nuclear UK and UK Young Generation Networks (YGN) and commit to Equal by 30.
- Enhance our Indigenous engagement capacity through Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) certification and other commercial opportunities
EXPECTED RESULTS
Broaden the dialogue and gain support from under represented groups in the sector and broader population Ability to support SMR vendors in effective engagement with Indigenous host communities
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND MARKETS
Support SMR deployment partnership with the UK and gain market access to other international markets
STATUS: IN PROGRESS
BAB04
Responds to SMR Roadmap recommendation(s): 08, 15, 34
ACTION
- Play a leadership role in aligning policy objectives between Canada and the UK
- Execute commercial programs that support overall policy objectives between Canada and the UK
- Leverage our international footprint to explore other markets outside of Canada and the UK
EXPECTED RESULTS
Identification, planning and implementation of joint policy initiatives (e.g. fuel supply) Successful commercial execution of programs that support policy goals Become actively engaged with other markets outside of Canada and the UK that are interested in SMR deployment.