Northern Nuclear Potential
Boiling water reactors and small modular reactors could be on the Canadian horizon, if the country is willing to make necessary investments.
Written by Mark Crawford
A RANGE OF SMALL MODULAR REACTORS (SMR) and advanced reactors (AR) technology options are being considered to bolster the Canadian power grid. Fuel sources range from low-enriched uranium (LEU) to high-assay LEU.
Each fuel source and cycle combination comes with unique capital investments, operational costs, strengths, and weaknesses, with individual implications on nuclear power generation’s long-term sustainability. New investments would also be necessary to build new industrial capabilities to manufacture the required SMR fuels and to support associated fuel cycles.
If Canada decides to establish a domestic supply chain, the nuclear industry in Canada may become a key player in the technology development, investment, and infrastructure necessary to achieve industrial-scale fuel manufacturing, fuel reprocessing, and recycling.
To get a clearer view of how Canada might support the development of domestic fuel manufacturing capabilities necessary for a fleet of BWR-SMRs, two nuclear engineering scientists at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL)—Blair P. Bromley and Lin Xiao—undertook an intensive literature review.
“Our study focused on assessing fuel supply and manufacturing needs for a 300-MWe-class small modular reactor based on boiling water reactor [BWR] technology,” said Bromley, a nuclear engineering scientist and reactor physicist at CNL. “The objective was to review and assess the existing Canadian nuclear industry infrastructure capabilities and technical gaps to manufacture near-term conventional fuels, and longer-term advanced fuels for a BWR-SMR.”
Literature Review
SMRs based on BWR technology are currently of great interest in Canada, particularly for Ontario Power Generation (OPG), which is planning to build four BWRX-300 units at its Darlington B site over the next several years.
Xiao and Bromley’s review is part of a multi-disciplinary, multi-year science and technology project to investigate and assess options for different small SMR technologies and their associated fuels and fuel cycles for long-term nuclear energy sustainability in Canada.
One of the biggest challenges was getting access to reliable and up-to-date information and data from the open literature. “Progress in nuclear science and technology for conventional and advanced fuels, and the options for manufacturing and fabrication are evolving quickly and continually,” said Xiao, a research scientist at CNL.
Many rapid changes are also occurring in the nuclear industry, along with changes in cooperative relationships between different countries. “Thus, facts and information that may have been relevant five years ago, or perhaps even two years ago, are no longer applicable,” Bromley added. “We need to recognize this present reality and be prepared to adapt to quickly changing situations.”
However, the nuclear power industry is conservative, gradual, and incremental in its approach to implementing new and different fuel design options that could improve long-term nuclear fuel sustainability, while also enhancing performance and safety margins. This approach makes sense in an environment where utilities are going to be risk-averse to avoid potential finance liabilities. “However, this highly risk-averse approach does cause delays in taking advantage of performance improvements that would have large long-term impacts for the benefit of the nuclear industry,” Bromley said.
“Progress in nuclear science and technology for conventional and advanced fuels, and the options for manufacturing and fabrication are evolving quickly and continually.”
—Lin Xiao, Research Scientist, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
Conceptual schematic representation of conventional UO₂ pellet. Source: “Fuel Supply and Fabrication Needs, Issues, Options, and Advanced Concepts for Boiling Water Reactor-Small Modular Reactors in Canada”
Key Considerations
The literature review covered several important topics related to developing domestic nuclear fuel manufacturing capabilities for BWR-SMRs, including considerations for advanced and alternative fuels that could enhance the reactors’ performance for sustainable long-term nuclear energy. Examples include the use of annular-type fuel pellets or carbon additives in uranium oxide (UO₂) fuel in an effort to increase uranium loading density and thermal conductivity.
Conventional fuel fabrication for BWR-SMRs is similar to metal-clad oxide fuels. Although facilities and infrastructure for this kind of fuel are well-developed and mature in Canada, new enrichment facilities may be needed to support a long-term secured supply of enriched uranium, the researchers found. These facilities may use gas centrifuge technology, or incorporate the development of new enrichment technologies, such as laser-based enrichment.
A BWR-SMR could utilize advanced or alternative fuels and incorporate novel design features to improve fuel performance and increase fuel failure limits. Such modifications could also permit higher burnup levels and fuel cycle periods.
“It is recognized and understood that the implementation of advanced/alternative fuels for BWR-SMRs may require an extended period of time and effort to move from the conception stage to the commercialization stage,” Xiao said. “In addition to completion of sufficient irradiation testing of advanced/alternative fuels to demonstrate, prove, qualify, and verify their performance, additional efforts will be required to address licensing and regulatory issues.”
World Uranium Enrichment Capacity, Operational in 2022 and Planned
Source: “Fuel Supply and Fabrication Needs, Issues, Options, and Advanced Concepts for Boiling Water Reactor-Small Modular Reactors in Canada”
Advanced modified UO₂ is already being developed to enhance its thermal conductivity and accident tolerance. The manufacturing process of advanced modified UO₂ fuels (with additives) is similar to that for conventional UO₂ fuel, with modified UO₂ fuels having compositions and microstructure to enhance their thermal conductivity and fission gas retention.
Annular-type fuel pellets and fuel elements are being developed to enhance both the economic and safety performance of advanced reactors. The press, sinter, and grind technology used in current nuclear fuel facilities could be adapted to the annular fuel fabrication. However, challenges with tooling, quality inspection, and processes need to be resolved.
Planning for the Future
“It would appear to be beneficial for Canada to develop the domestic capabilities for manufacturing BWR-SMR fuel for both domestic needs, and also for international export,” Bromley said. “There is a huge economic opportunity for Canada, if it is willing to make the long-term investment.”
Both the nuclear industry and the Canadian government will need to consider the various options for BWR-SMR fuel fabrication in Canada and then decide how to develop and evolve the domestic infrastructure.
“Research scientists and engineers will respond and act upon those needs and priorities,” Bromley said. “In the short term, it is logical to expect that conventional fuels will be implemented, and the beginning stages of domestic manufacturing capabilities and supporting infrastructure, leveraging existing capabilities, will begin construction within the next five years. In the longer-term—10 years and beyond—we might expect that continuing efforts on developing, understanding, assessing, and testing various advanced and alternative fuels for BWR-SMRs may lead to the commercial implementation of such fuels.”
Mark Crawford is a technology writer in Corrales, N.M.
“There is a huge economic opportunity for Canada, if it is willing to make the long-term investment.”
—Blair Bromley, Nuclear Engineering Scientist and Reactor Physicist, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
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“Fuel Supply and Fabrication Needs, Issues, Options, and Advanced Concepts for Boiling Water Reactor-Small Modular Reactors in Canada” was published in the April 2026 issue of the Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science.
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