Moltex receives $50.5M from Government of Canada for small modular reactor

Moltex receives funding from Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to advance the company’s molten salt reactor and spent fuel recycling technology in New Brunswick

Saint John, New Brunswick (Thursday, March 18, 2021)Moltex Energy is thrilled to receive $50.5 million from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to advance its project to design and commercialize a molten salt reactor and spent fuel recycling facility.

“Our government supports the use of this innovative technology to help deliver cleaner energy sources and build on Canada’s global leadership in small nuclear reactors. As we continue to protect Canadians and support them through the COVID-19 pandemic, we must also lay the foundation for a better-prepared, healthier and more prosperous Canada. The investment announced today will play a critical role in fighting climate change and will boost Canada’s economic stabilization after the pandemic,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

“The future of energy in Atlantic Canada is carbon-free. Today’s investment to develop innovative SMR technology in New Brunswick will support the deployment of the Atlantic Loop, help us build a more resilient economy and bring us one step closer to our climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050,” said the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Member of Parliament for Beauséjour.

Moltex plans to build the world’s first 300 MW Stable Salt Reactor – Wasteburner (SSR-W) and WAste To Stable Salt (WATSS) facility at the Point Lepreau Generating Station site in Saint John, New Brunswick and provide carbon-free electricity to the grid by the early 2030s.

“We are extremely grateful to the federal government for its support of our project” said Rory O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, North America, Moltex Energy. “We are significantly closer to our goal of new clean energy generation, and the many economic and environmental benefits that come with it.”

As it proceeds rapidly towards commercial development, Moltex will draw on Canada’s world-class nuclear supply chain, creating hundreds of high-value jobs. In the next 15 years, these jobs will contribute approximately $1 billion to Gross Domestic Product and result in about $100 million in federal government revenue.

The SIF funds represent $47.5 million of the total federal government investment, and Moltex will match these funds dollar-for-dollar. The full amount will be used to progress the SSR-W and WATSS designs and validate key assumptions to support the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s Pre-Licensing Vendor Design Review Phase 2. The ACOA funds represent $3 million of the total, and will be used to further WATSS research.  

In addition to Moltex, ACOA provided $4,999,568 to NB Power and $561,750 to the University of New Brunswick to strengthen the small modular reactor (SMR) cluster in New Brunswick.

Media contact:

Erin Polka
Director of Communications
Moltex Energy
erinpolka@moltexenergy.com

About Moltex:

Moltex is a privately held company striving to solve the world’s most critical challenge: providing sufficient clean, reliable and affordable energy. In collaboration with innovators and energy experts, the company is developing a small modular reactor that will help keep fossil fuels in the ground. Moltex was selected by NB Power and the Government of New Brunswick to progress development of its reactor technology in New Brunswick, Canada, with the aim of deploying its first reactor at the Point Lepreau nuclear site by the early 2030s. For more information visit: www.moltexenergy.com.

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