A full-scale mock-up of a Candu reactor, housed in a building in Courtice, Ont., near the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.Matthew McClearn/The Globe and Mail
AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. ATRL-T has signed an agreement with a Turkish company to explore building Candu reactors – the latest in the Montreal-based company’s efforts to grow its exports in Eastern Europe and the surrounding region.
The agreement between subsidiary Candu Energy Inc. and the Türkiye Nuclear Energy Co., represents an early stage in negotiations to win a multibillion-dollar sale. Joe St. Julian, president of AtkinsRéalis’s nuclear division, said the parties are studying several sites in Turkey where Candu reactors, likely 730-megawatt Enhanced Candu-6 models, could be built. But the arrangement is not exclusive, and other vendors are also reportedly marketing reactors in Turkey.
“Prime Minister Carney has made very clear he wants to triple non-U.S. exports to the world,” Mr. St. Julian said. “And Candu is a great way to do that.”
It’s been nearly 20 years since the last Candu reactor, Romania’s Cernavoda 2, was constructed, a period during which Russia has dominated the reactor export business. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dimmed the prospects for its state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, and created an opening for other vendors, particularly in regions where the country once dominated.
Turkey currently has no operating nuclear reactors, but four are under construction. According to the Power Reactor Information System maintained by the International Atomic Energy Agency, work began in 2018 on four Russian VVER pressurized water reactors at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. That project has suffered repeated delays. The first unit, which was meant to become operational in 2023, remains incomplete. The Turkish government has said the Akkuyu plant will meet 10 per cent of the nation’s demand for electricity once operational.
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In 2024, Turkey joined dozens of other countries in signing a U.S.-led declaration vowing to triple nuclear generation capacity by 2050; Turkish officials have expressed hopes to build 20 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by then. This has attracted vendors from Russia, South Korea and China, with Canada a recent entrant.
Turkey, with a population of about 86 million, is a challenging place to do business. It ranks poorly in the Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual survey of 182 countries conducted by Transparency International. The country’s score, currently 31 out of 100, has been in decline for more than a decade. The presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which began in 2014, has been marked by a drift toward authoritarian government. Transparency International says the entire region continues to be plagued by weak democratic institutions and rule of law, as well as political instability.
According to independent consultant Mycle Schneider’s latest annual report on the global nuclear industry, Turkish officials plan to construct two more large nuclear power plants. The proposed sites include the city of Sinop on the Black Sea coast, and Kirklareli province in the country’s northwest.
That same report noted that solar and wind energy have contributed the most to growth in Turkey’s generating capacity in recent years.
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Mr. St. Julian said AtkinsRéalis had been discussing potential reactor sales in Turkey for several years, and the latest talks began about a year ago. The company’s efforts to sell reactors in Poland, another key target market, are about six months further ahead, he added.
All previous foreign Candu sales have been partly financed by Export Development Canada, the federal government’s export credit agency. In 2024, the government provided $3-billion in export financing for building two new Enhanced Candu-6 reactors at Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear power plant.
In addition to Eastern Europe, Mr. St. Julian identified Southeast Asia and the United States as other priority markets. He said his company has sought similar support from EDC for its more recent sales efforts, and is confident that the agency’s appetite for providing further funding remains undimmed.
“You really can’t do these kind of things overseas without the full force and weight and support of the federal government,” he said. “EDC is with us everywhere we go, so they know all about these [efforts] and that the feedback is always very positive.”