SNC-Lavalin has signed an engineering service contract and a licensing agreement with China’s Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Company (TQNPC) to implement 37M Natural Uranium Equivalent (NUE) fuel, a mixture of depleted and recycled uranium, in Qinshan’s CANDU reactors Units 1 and 2. SNC-Lavalin’s work under the contract includes design definition, design verification, update of reactor nuclear design and safety case, regulatory support and licensing. The contract is valued at around $10 million.
Sandy Taylor, President, Nuclear at SNC-Lavalin said: “The landmark agreement between SNC-Lavalin and TQNPC will see the 37M fuel technology put into commercial use outside of Canada for the first time and takes advantage of the ample supply of depleted and recycled uranium in China. A step closer to closing the fuel cycle, 37M technology enables better use of alternate fuels in existing CANDU reactors. The two Qinshan CANDU reactors are already two of the best performing reactors in China, and adding 37M NUE fuel further improves their ability to continue to deliver that high performance.”