Decouple What's happening with CANDU?
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Mar 19, 2026 Joe St. Julian, President of Nuclear at AtkinsRéalis and veteran nuclear megaproject leader, explains why Canada may be closer to a new CANDU build than it seems. He discusses leveraging Darlington replication to cut first-of-a-kind risk. Topics include Monarch and EC6 designs, licensing and code updates, export markets like Romania and Poland, and mobilizing a sustained Canadian industrial strategy.
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Romania Is First New CANDU Newbuild
- Romania will build Cernavoda units 3 and 4 as EC6s; units 1–2 already operate there.
- EC6 net output is ~730 MW and fits European grids; units three and four are already under contract.
400,000 Documents Revalidated For Modern Licensing
- AtkinsRéalis is crosswalking ~400,000 Darlington design documents to today's codes and re‑stamping them to certify modern licensability.
- They expect to resolve licensability questions (seismic, aircraft impact, I&C) by Q3 2026 without material redesign.
Market Wants Proven Over Novel For Large Baseload
- Utilities prioritize minimizing regulator and first‑of‑a‑kind risk over cutting‑edge reactor novelty.
- That market preference makes an nth‑of‑kind CANDU more attractive than many advanced or unproven SMRs for large baseload.