ARC Clean Technology Canada’s President & CEO Bill Labbe is to leave the company as layoff notices were handed out to other employees, Brunswick News reported. Labbe “will transition to a new opportunity in coming months,” the company said. It’s unclear how many other staff remain.
The company said the changes are being made after ARC completed a second phase of a vendor design review with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), which represents a deep investigation into the company’s technology design and plans. CNSC has yet to publicly confirm the completion of that step, which was originally expected to be completed in January.
“Following the substantial conclusion of our work to complete Phase 2 of the vendor design review process with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, ARC Clean Technology is re-aligning personnel and resources to strengthen our strategic partnerships and rationalise operations to best prepare for the next phase of our deployment,” according to a company statement provided to Brunswick News.
“In parallel, Bill Labbe, ARC Clean Technology Canada President & CEO since 2021, has announced that he will transition to a new opportunity in coming months.” The company added that Labbe “continues to be a champion of SMRs in general, and ARC in particular, and will continue to support the company”. ARC said it has no plans to immediately replace him.
In December 2019, Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan signed an inter-provincial MOU to work together to advance SMRs in Canada, with Alberta joining in April 2021. In June 2022, SaskPower announced the selection of the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR as the preferred technology for initial grid-scale deployment in Saskatchewan. In April 2023, the ARC-100 SMR was identified by the Government of New Brunswick as technology of interest for industrial applications in a memorandum of understanding regarding nuclear technology signed with Saskatchewan.
A delegation from Saskatchewan toured the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in 2022. The new agreement recognises the ARC-100 as a potential technological solution to advance industrial decarbonisation in Saskatchewan. The ARC-100 is a 100 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor that has been selected by NB Power for implementation at Point Lepreau. It was scheduled for completion within the decade.
