Future of Nuclear Energy in Canada (Presentation)

Canadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU)

Like other reactors, this functions by using uranium to cause fission chain reactions that generate heat

This heat is used to create steam which is then used by steam generators to make electricity

CANDU reactors are different because they use natural uranium instead of enriched uranium

They also use "heavy water" as a coolant to make the reaction more efficient (heavy water has extra neutrons so it is less likely to absorb the neutrons used to perpetuate the chain reaction which generates electricity)

Refurbishment of CANDU Reactors

Current reactors are getting old

As time passes, parts of the reactors wear down until they need to be replaced to avoid a nuclear disaster

In both Bruce and Darlington the reactors are currently being refurbished, an expensive process at $2 billion to refurbish only 4

This cost is still cheaper than building whole new reactors

Future CANDU Research

There are plans to develop new reactors based on existing ones

CANDU Monark design will continue to be cooled by heavy water and the fuel will still use natural uranium, however there will be advanced safety features and other improvements

Another in-the-works alternative is a reactor which uses uranium recycled from other reactors

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

A reactor which takes up less space and is made of prefabricated components, therefore cheaper and easier to build

Unfortunately only supply around 1/3 as much electricity as a full reactor

SMRs in Canada

Canada is seriously considering SMRs, with plans in place to implement them in Darlington

Considering use in New Brunswick but to sell to the US

Appealing option in Canada due to the many remote communities where full reactors are not feasible

AI in Safety

Safety is a priority in nuclear reactor development and implementation as accidents have extremely severe consequences

Safety systems are reliant on software, using many sensors throughout the system to report information which safety decisions are made on

AI is much more efficient than software and humans at sifting through large amounts of data like that from the sensors, but to be precise the AI has to go through highly complex decision-making processes

Two Main Groups of AI

Intelligible AI:

Easier to understand, worse at data analysis, less efficient

Blackbox AI:

Harder to understand, better at data analysis, more efficient

Big Questions on AI

Will implementing AI in nuclear research and safety make our understanding of nuclear safety better (by helping us crunch the data) or worse (by making safety systems operations unintelligible)?

What could the consequences be if we don't understand our own safety systems?

Is it worth it to use blackbox AI for their accuracy and precision despite our inability to understand why they make their decisions?

We Need to Rush

Many of the disasters were caused due to leaving out safety steps for the sake of time because of the pressures of the cold war

Is it a good idea to try to fix climate change with nuclear if this will likely put a time constraint on the industry which might result in more accidents?

Should the money invested in making nuclear safe be instead allocated to other clean energy initiatives?

What other incentives do you think governments have to invest in nuclear energy?