Nuclear in Nunavut — The big idea

Nuclear in Nunavut is a four-part series exploring how advancements in nuclear technology might impact the territory.

Imagine a nuclear reactor about the size of a sea can.

Inside it is a fuel cell that can produce electricity for several years with no refueling. It’s made to be transportable in pieces and assembled on site. When it’s time to decommission the reactor, it can be carted off leaving nothing behind, not even nuclear waste.

This image shows the amount of energy contained in a 50-centimetre bundle of nuclear fuel compared to other fuels. (Image courtesy of Government of Canada)

“When most people hear the words ‘small modular reactor,’ that’s what they think about because they’ve seen a video online of a semi or a truck going down an ice road with a little reactor on the back, delivering it to a community,” said David Novog, an engineering professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., who specializes in small nuclear reactors.

There has been a proliferation of small nuclear reactor designs over the past 20 years, Novog said.

There are more than 80 ongoing small nuclear reactor projects in various stages of design and development globally, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Two are in operation — one in Russia, the other in China.

Because nuclear energy advancements could make the technology more affordable and transportable in the coming years, Nunatsiaq News is exploring the ideas and the possible risks and benefits they could bring to the North.

What is a small modular nuclear reactor?

Small modular nuclear reactors can range in size from something that would fit on the back of a flatbed truck to others that are several metres high.

They’re modular, meaning they are fabricated in parts in a centralized factory. The parts are shipped to their destination, then assembled.

And they use enriched uranium to generate electricity. Traditional nuclear reactor technology — what exists now — involves using enriched uranium to boil water. Steam from the boiling water spins a turbine, creating energy that produces no greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada is on track to be the first G7 nation to produce a small nuclear reactor. The project, under development in Darlington, Ont., will be capable of producing 300 megawatts of electricity, which could power approximately 300,000 homes. Four reactors are under construction, at an estimated cost of $21 billion.

While classified as “small,” the Darlington reactors are about 20 metres tall.

“Canada likes to put up its hand and say we’re building one,” Novog said.

“But the reactors at Darlington are not really what we’re talking about for the North. You know, in the North, what would be ideal is advanced microreactors.”

What is an advanced microreactor?

Advanced small, or micro, nuclear reactors are made to provide anywhere from a few hundred kilowatts of energy — enough to power a small remote community — to five megawatts, suitable to provide electricity to about 3,000 homes.

They are designed to run autonomously with little human intervention, making them ideal for remote communities and mines.

David Novog is a professor of engineering physics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., with a specialty in nuclear engineering and energy systems. (Photo courtesy of David Novog)

The problem is they don’t exist yet. Advanced nuclear technology remains in the conceptual stage.

“My one caution when I talk to northern communities or First Nations communities is that nobody is there yet,” Novog said.

“There’s not a commercial package where you could say, ‘I’m Community X, I’m ready to go. My populace is all on board and we’re excited to have it. Let’s go, bang. Here’s my money, bang.'”

But that isn’t stopping companies from peddling their ideas to northerners.

U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Co. came to Iqaluit in April 2025 to highlight its eVinci microreactor project, a five-megawatt miniplant intended for remote use. Later that spring, Westinghouse hosted northerners on a trip to its Pittsburgh, Pa., facility to see the reactor project itself.

Representatives from Qulliq Energy Corp., Nunavut’s three regional Inuit organizations, Nunavut & NWT Chamber of Mines, and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. were a few from the group who travelled to Pittsburgh.

A group of representatives from Nunavut, including the three Inuit organizations, NWT and Nunavut chamber of Mines, and Qulliq Energy Corp., take a tour of Westinghouse Electric Company’s eVinci reactor project in May 2025. (Photo courtesy of Westinghouse Electric Company)

Sometimes at conferences and conventions, “we’d have some interaction with companies that were interested or just trying to get the general sense of where Nunavut was at in moving toward nuclear power,” said Hudson Lester, acting executive director of the Nunavut and NWT Chamber of Mines, of the chamber’s interactions with Westinghouse.

“But that was our first, I’d say true, ‘Come check it out, here’s our idea.’”

Today, Westinghouse is focusing efforts on developing a different type of reactor through an $80-billion deal with the U.S. federal government.

But dozens of other projects remain in development across the world.

“If things keep proceeding where we have these demos and commercializations, then maybe five or 10 years from now we will have a commercial product,” Novog said.

Meanwhile, across the Arctic horizon in northern Russia, a small nuclear reactor provides power to a community called Pevek, population 4,000.

Coming up in Part 2: The story of the world’s first floating nuclear reactor, and how a similar idea could someday sail into Canada’s Arctic.