AtkinsRéalis company Candu Energy has entered into an agreement with Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Company Ltd (TQNPC) to support the ongoing 30-year life extension of the two CANDU reactors at the Qinshan Nuclear Generating Station in China. As part of the project for Phase III, AtkinsRéalis will provide design, engineering, and procurement services. This includes providing reactor tooling, training of TQNPC staff, and completing the necessary engineering work to enable the prolonged operation of the plant.
Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO of AtkinsRéalis commented: “We are entering a nuclear market super cycle with significant demand to build new reactors, but also to life extend those already in service. AtkinsRéalis is uniquely positioned with the scale, expertise and proven track record to deliver major nuclear projects on time and on budget.”
Qinshan’s Candu units began operating between 2002-2003. In 2024, TQNPC reached a milestone of continuous operation for one of the units for 677 days, setting a national record. During this period, the CANDU reactor generated electricity equivalent to 3.5 million tons of coal, achieving more than nine million tons of carbon emissions reduction compared to coal fired generaton.
The reactors are now approaching their scheduled date for component replacement, which will allow a further 30 years of operation. The life extension will “utilise the latest technological improvements to expedite the project”. This contract follows mandates in 2021 and 2022 for pre-project preparatory work, both of which have now been completed on schedule.
AtkinsRéalis is the sole commercial licensee of the Canadian-owned Candu intellectual property portfolio, and the only organisation that has taken a leading role in all Candu reactor life extension projects to date. That includes those successfully executed or underway in Asia, North America, Europe and South America. AtkinsRéalis says that its life extension reactor business is a $15 billion total addressable market that embraces upcoming projects in China, Canada, Argentina, Romania, and South Korea that could include 19 Candu reactors over the next 10 years.
As the original equipment manufacturer and steward of Candu technology, AtkinsRéalis was a member of the project team that built the reactors at Qinshan. They came into service on schedule and on budget, as did the last seven Candu units built around the world. The Qinshan generating station has already employed the capability of its technology to use feedstock sources besides natural uranium, including recycled uranium. Its reactors are also used to produce isotopes for both industrial and medical uses.
