Next Generation CANDU Technology: Competitive Design for the Nuclear Renaissance

AECL has developed the design for a next generation of CANDU^® plants by marrying a set of enabling technologies to well-established successful CANDU features. The basis for the design is to replicate or adapt existing CANDU components for a new core design. By adopting slightly enriched uranium fuel, a core design with light water coolant, heavy water moderator and reflector has been defined, based on the existing CANDU fuel channel module. This paper summarizes the main features and characteristics of the reference next-generation CANDU design. The progress of the next generation of CANDU design program in meeting challenging cost, schedule and performance targets is described. AECL’s cost reduction methodology is summarized as an integral part of the design optimization process. Examples are given of cost reduction features together with enhancement of design margins.