Federal government setting sights on AECL's research laboratories

Range of options available

Canada's nuclear S&T community is anxious to learn more about the fate of the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) — the nation's largest major science facility — following the sale of the CANDU division of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) to SNC Lavalin. When the sale is completed in late September or early October, the crown corporation will be left with only the research division — AECL Nuclear Laboratories (AECL-NL).

The sale's closing will trigger Phase II of the AECL restructuring to determine whether the government will continue to support the agency and if so, if it will become a national laboratory open to a wide range of users. The process is expected to take years and could result in anything from Canada's withdrawal from nuclear research to a reinvigorated sector with a new research reactor as its centerpiece. The cost of a replacement for the 54-year-old National Research Universal (NRU) reactor is estimated at between $500 million and $1 billion.

To date there have been only vague official expressions of continuing support for the facility or its research mandate, although there is no shortage of opinion on what it should do. In 2009, no less than three reports were issued from the neutron scattering research community, a group of current and former AECL employees and the government itself.

The latter, a summary report of a review of AECL by Natural Resources Canada, is the most recent official document to spell out options for a future mission for AECL-NL, previously known as the Research and Technology division. It recommended the restructuring and argues that the government should consider different management structures for the labs, including a government-owned, company-operated (GoCo) model currently employed at most laboratories owned by the US Department of Energy.

With more than 3,000 employees, AECL-NL has spent the last decade largely in the service of CANDU reactor development. In each of the last three fiscal years, the research labs division has received $500 million. That comprises the majority of AECL's $600-million annual budget with approximately 30% devoted to CANDU, slightly larger amounts going to waste management and environmental stewardship and isotope production and the remainder spread over counter proliferation activities and pre-competitive R&D.

By far the largest concentration of personnel is in Chalk River, with smaller groups in Whiteshell MB (currently being decommissioned), Port Hope ON and Ottawa.

When the decision was made to restructure AECL, the corporation was in a state of flux. It was left reeling from the debacle surrounding the failure to complete development of the MAPLE reactors for isotope production, the government's decision to stop using the NRU for making isotopes after 2016 and the lack of reactor sales.

sale to SNC lavalin comes with contract

The sale of the CANDU division to SNC Lavalin for $15 million resulted in the formation of a new company — Candu Energy — which will receive $75 million to complete the design for the Enhanced Candu reactor (EC6) and fund existing life extension projects such as the Point Lepreau and Bruce reactors. The government will retain all intellectual property related to the CANDU reactor technology that — combined with heavy water sales — could generate royalties totaling $285 million. AECL-NL also has a five-year contract with Candu Energy to continue providing R&D for its operations.

That's small potatoes compared to the investments the federal government has made in AECL since its formation in 1952. According to data released at the time of the sale's announcement, AECL has received $9.9 billion over a 59-year period, $2.2 billion of which was allocated in just three years between 2008 and 2010.

While AECL awaits final approval to extend operation of the aging NRU reactor until 2016, the agency is proposing to extend its operation even further to 2021, according to the latest Environmental Screening Report by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

"The two divisions have inter-related business operations and considerable overlap and multitasking by personnel occurs between different units ... This blurring of mandates and accountabilities ill serves both the Corporation's interests and broader public policy interests." —NRCan Review of AECL (2009)

A replacement of the NRU is essential if the government decides to convert AECL-NL into a national laboratory to accommodate researchers from a variety of disciplines (see page 3). Researchers have been unable to access the majority of the Chalk River facilities since their role has been corporately tied to the CANDU commercial operations.

"The nuclear labs division will be the heart and soul of the remaining crown corporation … The government's intention after the sale (of the CANDU commercial division) closes is to begin phase II — the nuclear labs division," says Dr Robert Walker, AECL's VP research who was ADM (Science and Technology) with the Department of National Defence and the CEO of Defence R&D Canada prior to taking the posting last November (R$, September 23/10). "We will proceed with our current mandate in the meantime."

That mandate is outlined in the so-called Program Activity Architecture framework which has "six direct output Program activities and two supporting enabling Activity Areas," according to the agency's Voyageur newsletter.

Walker says the Phase II review will hopefully answer what he calls the "big four" questions: why now, scope (size of investment), shared investment and quality. Cabinet must first discuss and determine the parameters of the review process, including the role of the federal government in nuclear S&T and potential business models. Walker says the crown corporation model is "well placed to serve multiple perspectives simultaneously" in the areas of public good (nuclear waste, new technologies), health, safety and security and regulation.

a balance of public and private investment?

Walker describes a scenario in which there is a balance between public and private investment, allowing for pre-competitive research ("seed corn") to pursue 4th generation nuclear technologies, fusion technology and small modular reactors that could be used for clean energy production in the Canadian north.

But perhaps it's AECL-NL role within nuclear innovation networks that has the widest appeal for the nuclear S&T community. As Canada's largest major science facility, AECL-NL holds considerable potential for a wide range of users groups from academia, industry and government — the latter including the National Research Council's Canadian Neutron Beam Centre which was transferred from AECL in 1997.

The first priority, says Walker, is to position the agency during the Phase II review on four objectives to ensure that: the labs are aligned with federal priorities; its activities are of high value to all stakeholders, the nuclear labs are well managed and being cost-aware and efficient.

"All can be improved and we're moving in all areas," he says.

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