Canada-based Moltex Energy said on 18 March that it had received CAD50.5 million ($40.3m) from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to advance its project to design and commercialise a molten salt reactor and used fuel recycling facility.
“Our government supports the use of this innovative technology to help deliver cleaner energy sources and build on Canada’s global leadership in small nuclear reactors,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “As we continue to protect Canadians and support them through the COVID-19 pandemic, we must also lay the foundation for a better-prepared, healthier and more prosperous Canada. The investment announced today will play a critical role in fighting climate change and will boost Canada’s economic stabilisation after the pandemic.”
Moltex plans to build the world’s first 300 MW Stable Salt Reactor – Wasteburner (SSR-W) and WAste To Stable Salt (WATSS) facility at the Point Lepreau Generating Station site in Saint John, New Brunswick to provide electricity to the grid by the early 2030s.
As it proceeds rapidly towards commercial development, Moltex said it will draw on Canada’s world-class nuclear supply chain, creating hundreds of high-value jobs. In the next 15 years, these jobs will contribute approximately CAD1 billion to Gross Domestic Product and result in about CAD100 million in federal government revenue.
The SIF funds represent CAD47.5 million of the total federal government investment, and Moltex will match these funds dollar-for-dollar. The full amount will be used to progress the SSR-W and WATSS designs and validate key assumptions to support the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s Pre-Licensing Vendor Design Review Phase 2. The ACOA funds represent CAD3 million of the total, and will be used to further WATSS research.
In addition to Moltex, ACOA also provided CAD4,999,568 to NB Power and CAD561,750 to the University of New Brunswick to strengthen the small modular reactor (SMR) cluster in New Brunswick.
