Dr. Rita Baranwal, Senior Vice President for the AP300™ SMR, speaks to suppliers.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, November 12, 2024 – Westinghouse Electric Company welcomed 116 suppliers and local organizations to a Saskatchewan Supplier Symposium on November 8, 2024. The day-long event provided a forum for potential suppliers to learn about supporting Westinghouse’s new-build projects in Canada and globally.
During the event, suppliers were welcomed with remarks from Cameco Corporation, Saskatchewan Power Corporation (SaskPower), and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). Suppliers were also provided overviews of the AP1000® reactor, the AP300™ small modular reactor (SMR) and the eVinci™ microreactor as well as the benefits of joining Westinghouse’s global supply chain.
“Through this Supplier Symposium and close collaboration with the nation’s nuclear supply chain and trade unions, we are ready now to deliver North America’s next AP1000 plant to bring real economic benefits and high-quality jobs to Canada,” said Dan Lipman, President of Westinghouse Energy Systems. “A four-unit AP1000 project in Canada would create 12,000 local jobs while delivering $28.7 billion Canadian dollars in GDP during construction.”
Saskatchewan is home to key strategic partnerships for Westinghouse, including a collaboration with SRC to locate Canada’s first eVinci microreactor in the province. Under the agreement, Westinghouse and SRC are working to install and operate an eVinci microreactor, which acts like a battery to provide up to 5 megawatts of electricity over eight-plus years, for industrial use by 2029.
Jacques Besnainou, Chief Commercial Officer, addresses the suppliers.
In addition, Westinghouse is partnering with SaskPower and Cameco to explore the technical and commercial pathways to deploying the AP1000 reactor, the AP300 SMR and associated nuclear fuel supply chain in Saskatchewan. The framework also identifies opportunities to collaborate on nuclear research, development and workforce training in partnership with Saskatchewan’s post-secondary institutions.
Owned by Canadian energy powerhouses Cameco and Brookfield, Westinghouse is the only nuclear vendor with a proven, fully operational Generation III+ reactor technology that is ready to be deployed in Canada and generate electricity by as early as 2035. A four-unit AP1000 facility in Canada can power at least three million homes while supporting $8.1 billion Canadian dollars in GDP annually from ongoing operations. The four-unit project would also provide Canadian firms opportunities to support the more than 30 AP1000 units in the pipeline globally. Each AP1000 unit built outside of Canada could generate almost $1 billion of Canadian dollars in GDP through local suppliers and trade unions.