Canada’s nuclear power stations avoided losses of hundreds of millions of dollars in energy production and prevented gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions, following research into causes and prevention of reactor leaks. The underlying issue was resolved, which enabled a multi-billion-dollar reactor export project to proceed with confidence, supporting thousands of jobs for Canadians. The value of these benefits from 10 years of this research is of the same order of magnitude as the present value of all of Canada’s investments in neutron beam laboratories over 70 years, approximately $750 million.
These impacts arose from the use of neutron stress-scanning to examine cracking in key power station components. Such cracking caused unexpected shutdowns of a power station costing over $50 million in total. The neutron results provided assurance to the regulator that the station could restart safely, thus avoiding further losses. Neutron stress-scanning aided all nuclear stations to operate reliably since 2001, which in turn enabled Ontario to close its coal plants and eliminate “smog days” in Toronto.
Today, research with neutron beams aims to produce over $10 billion in value added to Canada’s nuclear expansion. Canadian governments are investing $1 billion in small-modular reactor (SMR) demonstration projects, and over $25 billion in refurbishments and procurement of large-scale reactors. These investments could lead to $100 billion in industrial activity as Canada’s nuclear fleet expands. By generating precise knowledge of innovative fuels and materials for critical reactor components and thus determine their fitness-for-service, Canada can qualify innovations that offer multi-billion-dollar benefits, such as extending reactor life from 40 years between refurbishments to 60 years, or cutting construction and operating costs of SMRs—all while maintaining their safe, reliable, and economic operations.
