The Canadian Space Mining Corporation (CSMC) has licensed the rights to develop a nuclear reactor for commercialization, according to an announcement made by CSMC earlier today. The reactor technology comes from the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), and will be based on the Canadian-made SLOWPOKE research reactor.

This follows previous news that CSMC was working on development of a transportable nuclear fission reactor under the name “Project LEUNR,” under the grant from the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Space Technology Development Program (STDP.). 

Specifically, according to the announcement, CSMC and CNL “signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Licensing term sheet…to explore commercialization of the SLOWPOKE-2 reactor technology.” This appears to be with an eye to turning the SLOWPOKE technology into the foundation of CSMC’s LEUNR reactor, which will now be developed with an eye to both space-based and terrestrial applications.

SLOWPOKE called “safest reactor on the planet” 

The SLOWPOKE – short for “Safe LOW-Power (K)Critical Experiment – is a light water, self-regulating reactor that uses ceramic Uranium Dioxide fuel, beryllium reflectors, and passive cooling that can slow or stop the chain reaction if the water heats up or forms bubbles. The Royal Military College of Canada has a SLOWPOKE-2 reactor, used for research and to produce gamma and neutron radiation for research, analysis, and isotope production, and said that “it is the only type of nuclear reactor licensed in Canada for unattended operation in automatic mode.”  

(David Dunlop made the case for using the SLOWPOKE on Canadian submarines in the Canadian Naval Review in early 2020. Canadian submarines use electric propulsion, and Dunlop suggested using the SLOWPOKE reactors to charge them as part of a “hybrid design”.)

CSMC’s announcement described SLOWPOKE as a reactor with “a proven track record of reliable, long-term operations,” and heavily emphasized its safety record, saying “it is considered by some to be the safest reactor on the planet due to its numerous passive safety systems”. Eight of the reactors have been built, with three reactors still in operation.

CSMC said that there will be several key areas for collaboration between the two organizations. This will include “collaborative research and development initiatives,” and will also include development of the reactor into a “viable energy solution” for both powering lunar operations and providing energy for “applications in remote locations including Canada’s Arctic region.”

Daniel Sax, CEO of CSMC, said that “this is a pivotal moment in our journey to develop micro-reactors that meet current and future needs.”

License at culmination of “years of hard work” 

In correspondence with SpaceQ, Sax said that this was the result of “three years of hard work;” specifically that CSMC and CNL had been “working on a plan for [the SLOWPOKE technology], both business and R&D wise, for the last several years.” He said that this was “one of many milestones along the road.” As CNL has been “a key technical partner of ours for the last few years,” he added, working with their technology makes sense. 

According to the CEO, “the genesis of the idea came about from a first principles approach to filling key lunar gaps.” As they worked on the question of mining in space, including on the Moon, it quickly became clear that “power would be a gating factor, and solar wasn’t going to cut it for either thermal energy or [lunar] night survivability.” Their Chief Scientist, Richard Boudreault, had been interested in the SLOWPOKE technology “dating back to his time on AECL’s board” (referring to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd), and so CSMC decided that adapting SLOWPOKE would be “core to the strategy” for LENUR, as “starting with an existing reactor and upgrading it makes sense.” 

A dual-use strategy also made sense to them as well. Sax said that he is “a big advocate of the use of a technology like LEUNR for space exploration,” but he also recognizes that “the needs in Canada’s north are well known and well documented.” He maintained that “if we’re going to hit the government’s net-zero goals, as well as replace diesel generators up there, we need solutions that work, and particularly ones that can get to market right away.” He believes that LEUNR, using the SLOWPOKE reactor’s technology, will help achieve that, and “help tackle one of the biggest problems in Canada.”

Sax emphasized that he sees this as a long term arrangement. “It’s an honor to work with the team [at CNL]”, he said, “and [we] want to continue to do R&D with them, demonstrate the upgraded reactor with them, and ultimately build dozens of reactors with them as a partner.” Sax wants to position CSMC as “a market leading reactor company,” and sees the Canadian Nuclear Labs as a key governmental partner in achieving that goal. Part of that is a “bold plan to put the first reactor on the Moon,” but another part will be helping with terrestrial power generation, and Sax said that “we need to capitalize on these types of opportunities.” 

CNL’s Vice-President of Science & Technology, Dr. Stephen Bushby, said that CNL “is excited to work alongside AECL and CSMC to breathe new life into the SLOWPOKE nuclear reactor technology.” He said that the agreement is “aligned with CNL’s efforts to commercialize this and other AECL reactor technologies.” 

Dr. Amy Gottschling, Vice- President of Science, Technology & Commercial Oversight at AECL, said that the collaboration “signals another key step in cementing Canada’s competitive position in the current and future nuclear market…building off the decades of work enabled by our national nuclear laboratories.”