Canada-based ARC Clean Technology has achieved a major regulatory milestone with the completion of Phase 2 of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) Vendor Design Review (VDR) for its ARC small modular reactor (SMR). CNSC concluded that no fundamental barriers to licensing had been identified.
The ARC-100 is a 100 MWe integrated sodium-cooled fast reactor with a metallic uranium alloy core. The design is based on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) fast reactor prototype which operated at the USA’s Argonne National Laboratory from 1961 to 1994. ARC Nuclear signed an agreement with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in March 2017 to collaborate on the development and licensing of an SMR using proprietary technology from GEH’s PRISM reactor, which is also based on the EBR-II.
The technology is being advanced in partnership with New Brunswick Power (NB Power) at their Point Lepreau site in New Brunswick. In 2023, NB Power submitted a Licence to Prepare Site application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a commercial demonstration of the ARC reactor, and the utility is also considering ARC technology as part of a plan for additional SMR capacity at the Lepreau site. The ARC-100 is the first advanced, sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor to complete a VDR with the CNSC.
The pre-licensing VDR is an optional service to provide an assessment of a NPP design based on a vendor’s reactor technology. It is not a required part of the licensing process. It comprises three phases: a pre-licensing assessment of compliance with regulatory requirements; an assessment of any potential fundamental barriers to licensing; and a follow-up phase allowing the vendor to respond to findings from the second phase. The VDR for the ARC-100 began in September 2017 and the first phase was completed in October 2019.
As part of Phase 2, which began in 2022, ARC submitted hundreds of technical documents covering 19 focus areas defined by the CNSC and of importance to future licensing applications. The submissions included information related to safety systems, safety analyses, reactor and process system design, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance.
“NB Power congratulates ARC Clean Technology on the completion of Phase 2 of the CNSC’s Vendor Design Review,” said Lori Clark, President and CEO of NB Power. “We’ve been pleased to provide technical support throughout this process and recognise this as a meaningful step in ARC’s project development. We look forward to continued collaboration in exploring innovative energy solutions.”
