CLARINGTON, ONT. – The Ontario government recently announced it has secured an investment of $70 million from GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) to build the world’s first BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) engineering and service centre near the Darlington New Nuclear Project site.
Once complete, the new centre will create new opportunities for workers in engineering, science, construction and other skilled trades.
It will bring over 300 jobs to Durham Region, a release reads, while its training facilities will help more than 2,000 people per year acquire the skills they need for successful careers as “experts on nuclear innovation and operations.”
The planned engineering and service centre will include a virtual reality simulator and provide training capabilities to support SMR refuelling and maintenance evolutions.
“The facility will develop advanced maintenance and inspection technologies tailored to the simpler SMR units and serve as an outage planning and execution preparation center for BWRX-300 reactors,” a release from GVH notes.
It is slated to be operational by the end of 2027 and will also have the capability to support other GE Vernova businesses.
The announcement follows the Ontario government’s approval to proceed with construction of the first of four BWRX-300s at the Darlington site, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in the G7 to approve construction of a grid-scale SMR. Construction of the first unit is scheduled to be completed by the end of the decade.
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