Polytechnique Montréal is looking to revive nuclear science research in Quebec as its research reactor, the province’s only one, turns 50 this year, The Canadian Press reported Oct. 7.
The school said a $1-million donation over five years from AtkinsRéalis will fund a new nuclear engineering research chair. Foutse Khomh, the school’s vice-president of research and innovation, said Polytechnique hopes to hire five professors as it reinvigorates the field.
Nuclear research in the province has been declining, according to the report. Nicolas Godbout, the school’s director of engineering physics, said Canada was a leader in nuclear engineering 50 years ago, but many of the researchers who led the field have since retired. He said the school’s biggest legacy is the highly qualified people it has trained.
The reactor is a Slowpoke, short for Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment. It is a sealed-container, in-pool research reactor that produces about 20 kilowatts of thermal energy, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says. The Canadian Press compared that to the power needed for six or seven toasters.
The core sits in a deep pool and the unit needs no cooling towers. It is designed to shut itself off if it reaches a certain temperature, according to the report.
Reactor manager Darren Hall said about 25 years of fuel remain, which means the reactor could keep running for another 25 years. He said it is used mainly for neutron activation analysis, a quality-assurance method that identifies the elements in a material. He compared it to reading the ingredient list on a cereal box.
Hall said examples include detecting arsenic in recycled plastics and measuring critical minerals in mining samples. The reactor is also used for medical purposes, he said. Khomh noted that nuclear research reaches beyond energy, into medicine and into mineral exploration and mining.
The commission renewed the reactor’s operating licence for 10 years in 2023. The licence runs until June 30, 2033, and the commission said the renewal made no changes to the authorized activities or the terms and conditions of the previous licence. It described the reactor’s main use as neutron activation analysis for teaching, research and work with industry, and said it has operated since 1976.
Interest in nuclear power is growing in Canada because of rising electricity demand and climate targets, though some groups remain opposed, The Canadian Press reported. In 2022, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta signed a plan to develop small modular reactors. Last month, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he is looking at building two large reactors in the province’s northwest by 2042.
In Quebec, the Gentilly-2 nuclear plant in Bécancour is decommissioned. Polytechnique staff supported its operations and contributed research used to design Canada’s CANDU reactors, according to the report.
The Quebec reactor is not the country’s oldest. McMaster University’s research reactor in Hamilton has operated since 1959.
The story is developing. The Canadian Press report is the main source for the school’s plans and the quotes, and the funding details have not been independently confirmed with AtkinsRéalis or Polytechnique. The reactor’s specifications and licence terms come from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
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Via The Canadian Press (CP24): Polytechnique looks to revive nuclear studies as Quebec’s only reactor turns 50. Additional source: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
