Peter Morand

Searching for solutions to the energy conundrum

By Dr Peter Morand

In spite of well-founded concerns about the increasingly high cost of extracting fossil fuels and their detrimental impact on the environment, Canada and the rest of the world continue to rely heavily on this source for their energy needs. The unprecedented level of ecological damage caused by the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (Macondo blowout) makes it abundantly clear that policy formulation and resource allocation for the development of alternate energy sources must be a high priority if, at the global level, we are to survive.

Meanwhile in Canada, huge investments continue to be made in fossil fuel extraction technologies, such as the oil sands project in Alberta and off shore drilling in the turbulent Newfoundland waters at depths that pose frightening ecological risks.

In retrospect, Canada was a pioneer in the development of nuclear fission technology as a viable alternate energy source. This goes back to the establishment of the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories by the National Research Council and the commissioning of the first nuclear reactor outside the US in 1945. In 1952, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) was created as a crown corporation and in 1962 the first nuclear power plant — a prototype of the CANDU design (CANada Deuterium Uranium) — became operational in a joint project with what is now Ontario Hydro. Historically, the CANDU's key competitive advantage has been its ability to utilize uranium in its natural form.

Currently, there are five functioning nuclear power stations in Canada, three in Ontario (with several CANDU units), one in Québec and one in New Brunswick. Twelve CANDUs have been sold to other countries, including China and South Korea and AECL has subsidiaries in these countries. But for some time now, AECL has come under increasing pressure because of setbacks in its plans for a next-generation CANDU design and cost overruns in the refurbishment of nuclear power plants. Also there have been issues related to the production of isotopes needed for imaging and therapeutic applications for which AECL has had a sizeable share of the world market.

In 2007, after years of indecision, the Ministry of Natural Resources undertook a review of the structure of AECL in the context of its ability, as a crown corporation, "to participate fully in the expanding global nuclear market." The review, completed in the spring of 2009, concluded that AECL should be restructured to allow for the participation of strategic investors. Shortly thereafter, investors were invited to submit proposals for AECL's commercial CANDU reactor division. The criteria for the assessment of bids received will focus on Canada's energy and environmental needs, cost control to optimize the government's investment in nuclear energy and the positioning of Canada's nuclear industry and its workforce.

The Ontario government's indefinite postponement of the purchase of a CANDU reactor and, more recently, the decision by the New Brunswick government to select an AECL competitor (France's the Areva Group) to build a new nuclear reactor, are bound to have repercussions on the bidding process for the CANDU business. There are also protests from the government opposition who insist such a transaction needs parliamentary approval rather than having it included under the parliamentary budget legislation. A great deal is at stake here. If the restructuring succeeds, Canada will continue to be a global leader in an important energy sector. If it fails it would devastate Canada's substantial 60-year financial and human resources investment.

Nuclear fusion is another potential alternate energy source which has been on the table for many years. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is an international project that began in 1985 but has been plagued by bureaucratic bickering, failure to meet established milestones and increasing skepticism about the viability of the magnetic confinement fusion approach. Canada opted out of the ITER project in 2003 (R$, December 1/03). Since then, pioneering developments in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) technology have opened the possibility for lasers to ignite the nuclear fusion process.

Three major ICF projects are underway in Japan (FALCON-D), Europe (HiPER) and the US (National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore) with many countries participating and training specialists in this area. More recently, an NIF-led proposal has come forward for the development of a Laser Inertial Fusion Engine (LIFE) that would use nuclear waste as its fuel and possibly help meet the world's insatiable need for energy without carbon dioxide emissions. It's not surprising that several private companies which focus on nuclear fusion as an energy source have sprung up in the US.

Nuclear fusion R&D for application as a plentiful, safe and sustainable future energy source is ramping up globally. But judging by the dearth of publications by Canadian authors in this area over the past five years, Canada seems to be out of the loop. Attempts are being made to put Canada back in the picture (R$, October 26/09) but nuclear fusion does not appear to be a strategic priority as a possible solution for Canada's future energy needs.

One bright spot is General Fusion, a private company in British Columbia created by former CREO employees after CREO's acquisition by Kodak. GF's technology is termed acoustic Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF), based on an earlier concept that was being developed in the US some 25 years ago and then abandoned. Taking advantage of significant advancements in both compact torus (CT) plasma technology and in digital electronic servo controlled systems, GF built a demonstration unit. It reports that "although not capable of energy production, this small machine is producing some fusion reactions and therefore demonstrates the feasibility of the method". The company is now moving forward and building an experimental reactor as the next stage of its technology plan.

The company, financed by a syndicated venture capital investment and by Sustainable Development Technology Canada, has initiated research collaborations with a few Canadian universities, with the Russian Federal Nuclear Center (VNIIEF) and with Los Alamos Labs in the US. These are hopeful signs that nuclear fusion will be on the agenda when the government gets around to the formulation of meaningful energy policies.

Peter Morand is former dean of science and engineering at the University of Ottawa, past president of NSERC and past president & CEO of the Canadian Science & Technology Growth Fund. petermorand@rogers.com.