Construction work starts on ANMRC at Chalk River
Construction is finally underway on the Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre (ANMRC) at the Chalk River Laboratories near Ottawa.
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) officially broke ground on the project on December 7. AECL President & CEO Fred Dermarkar and CNL President & CEO Joe McBrearty were among those on hand to commemorate the start of construction.
Scheduled for completion in the spring of 2028, the ANMRC is a state-of-the-art research complex that will be one of the largest nuclear research facilities ever built in Canada.
When construction is complete, it will serve as the backbone of CNL’s research and development infrastructure. The 10,000-square-metre facility will feature 23 laboratories, accommodate 160 employees and consolidate key capabilities from aging facilities scheduled for decommissioning at the site.
“Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is looking to the future,” said Dermarkar. “ANMRC is central to our vision to drive nuclear innovation. It will be a modern, efficient, world-class nuclear lab to serve the needs of the Government of Canada and the Canadian nuclear industry – not only for today, but for decades into the future.”
Among other functions, the ANMRC is designed to support Canada’s clean energy goals by providing services critical to the life extension and long-term reliability of existing reactors, including Canada’s fleet of CANDU nuclear power reactors and other designs from around the world.
As the largest single capital investment in the revitalization of the Chalk River campus, the ANMRC will feature 12 new shielded hot cells that will enable post-irradiation examination of small modular reactor and next-generation nuclear fuels in addition to glovebox facilities to support the development of advanced fuel fabrication concepts.
“This exciting new research facility will ensure that CNL maintains its position as a world leader in nuclear science and technology into the future,” said McBrearty. “The investments that the Government of Canada has made into the revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories give us the facilities and infrastructure needed to confront some of the nation’s most pressing issues, from climate change to energy security. That is the responsibility we have as Canada’s national nuclear laboratory, and the ANMRC is at the centre of this vision.”
The facility is being built under an integrated project delivery (IPD) model, in part because of its complexity.
The IPD team includes CNL, Chandos Construction Inc., Bird Construction Inc., M. Sullivan & Son Limited, Eclipse Automation, JP2G Consultants, RJC Engineers, Merrick & Company, Modern Niagara, MSE, Plan Group and Siemens.
The ANMRC is one of a series of new laboratories, office buildings and support facilities that are being constructed at the Chalk River Laboratories to revitalize the campus. The work is being funded via a $1.2-billion investment from AECL on behalf of the Government of Canada.
In addition to the ANMRC, a Science Collaboration Centre is under construction that will serve as CNL’s central planning and collaboration space. A new two-storey industrial-use support facility and a new site entrance building were recently completed, and several science facilities have been opened in the last few years, including a new hydrogen laboratory complex, a new materials research laboratory and a new tritium laboratory
Major investments have also been made into infrastructure improvements for the campus, including new domestic water and natural gas service, a modern sanitary sewage treatment facility and a system to more effectively manage storm water.