GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) on 15 July announced the creation of 80 highly skilled jobs in Ontario to support the deployment of BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in Canada and around the world. The professional technical jobs will be based at GEH’s Canada SMR headquarters in Markham, Ontario and are primarily in engineering, project management, sourcing and quality.
“By investing in Ontario’s labour force, GE is proud to support Canada in fulfilling its vision of being a global leader in SMR technology,” said Heather Chalmers, President & CEO, GE Canada. “GE has operated in Canada for nearly 130 years and is uniquely positioned to scale a workforce to support Canada’s clean energy vision.”
“We are thrilled to see 80 new jobs being created here in the City of Markham and even more excited at the prospect of further investment and job creation as GE Hitachi aims to make its SMR headquarters, here in Markham, a hub for SMR technology globally,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. "GE has been an instrumental part of Markham’s innovation ecosystem for 10 years providing cutting edge smart city solutions through its Grid IQ Innovation Centre."
“These skilled, high-paying jobs in Ontario will support the deployment of our innovative, carbon-free SMR technology in Canada and worldwide,” said Lisa McBride, Canada SMR Country Leader for GEH. “This is just the beginning of our projected growth and we look forward to posting more jobs as we continue to build our SMR team.”
GEH has also brought nine students from across Canada on board for paid summer internships. The students, representing McMaster University, Mohawk College, Ontario Tech University, Queen’s University, the University of Calgary, the University of Ottawa and the University of Saskatchewan, are working with GEH engineers to support the deployment of small modular reactors.
An independent report by PwC Canada, commissioned by GEH, estimates that the construction and operation of the first BWRX-300 in Ontario is expected to generate approximately $2.3 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), $1.9 billion in labour income and more than $750 million in federal, provincial and municipal tax revenue over its lifespan. The report estimates that each subsequent BWRX-300 deployed in Ontario and other provinces is expected to further generate more than $1.1 billion in GDP and more than $300 million in tax revenue.
The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems. GEH projects the BWRX-300 will require significantly less capital cost per MW compared with other SMR designs. By leveraging the design and licensing basis of GEH’s US NRC-certified ESBWR, utilising the licensed and proven GNF2 fuel design and incorporating proven components and supply chain expertise, GEH said it believes the BWRX-300 can become the lowest-risk, most cost-competitive and quickest to market SMR.
