Overview
- AtkinsRéalis formally submitted a Notice of Intent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday to begin the NRC’s pre‑application licensing process for its CANDU reactor technology.
- The company markets the Enhanced CANDU‑6 as a proven heavy‑water design that runs on natural uranium, supports online refuelling, and is a 700+ megawatt‑class reactor built and operated in multiple countries.
- AtkinsRéalis is actively courting U.S. utilities, state governments, hyperscale data‑center operators and large industrial users while prioritizing former nuclear sites to shorten siting and construction timelines.
- The licensing path is an early, multi‑step effort that depends on the NRC’s review under its commercial reactor framework and on securing partner agreements and supply‑chain support before any build can begin.
- If approved and deployed at scale, AtkinsRéalis says CANDU could supply continuous low‑carbon power for AI and manufacturing, strengthen fuel‑supply security by avoiding enrichment, and support jobs and isotope production, but the plans remain forward‑looking and subject to regulatory and commercial risk.