Energy

Quebec residents enjoy more reliable and economical electricity thanks to research using neutrons. Now, Hydro-Quebec is leading an initiative by the International Electrotechnical Commission to develop a new international standard that will ensure the long-term reliability and prevent losses from hydroelectric turbine failures.

Assessments of national facilities dedicated to neutron beams in the U.S. and U.K. found that they produce social and economic benefits worth at least double the investment. Canada, with its multipurpose neutron source model, is realizing a return on investment in its neutron facilities of at least 3 times.

Canadian and U.S. research using neutron beams has led to multiple advances in battery electric vehicles, resulting in an estimated economic benefit to Canada of $1.6 billion.

Canada’s nuclear power stations avoided losses of hundreds of millions of dollars in energy production and prevented gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions. Thousands of jobs were supported. Continuing research aims for billion-dollar impacts.

Social acceptance of nuclear power is linked to the safe, permanent disposal of its used fuel and nuclear waste. Researchers at Western University use neutron beams to generate key knowledge about the long-term reliability of used-fuel storage containers—knowledge that has proven essential for the licensing of geologic repositories.

Canada’s fleet of nuclear power plants have realized impacts worth hundreds of millions from research supported by a decade of stress measurements using neutron beams to ensure their safe, reliable and economic operations.

With sponsorship from Tesla Motors, one ‘Gold medal’ Canadian scientist is using neutron beams in the quest to reduce the cost of energy storage technologies, which is vital for the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles.

The Canadian energy sector has developed standard practices to ensure that oil and gas pipelines remain safe as they age. For the past decade, these standard practices have been influenced by a team of researchers, including one University of Alberta professor and his industrial partners, who use neutron beams to better understand stress and corrosion in pipeline steel.

Hydro-Québec is using stress data from the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC) to improve electricity generation from hydroelectric dams.

Operators of nuclear power plants use stress data from the CNBC to ensure safe, reliable and economic operations.

Stress data obtained at the CNBC contributed to a guide that is used by nuclear operators in Japan to inform decisions about expensive replacements of in-core components that may be susceptible to cracking.

One of the University of Waterloo’s top scientists uses neutron beams to help develop the energy storage technology needed to power electric vehicles—and to reduce the need for fossil fuels to back up wind turbines.