Through work delivered at the Chalk River Laboratories, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), and now CNL, has been a leader in the development of innovative nuclear science and technology products and services. Guided by an ambitious corporate strategy known as Vision 2030, CNL fulfills three strategic priorities of national importance – restoring and protecting the environment, advancing clean energy technologies and contributing to the health of Canadians. We are now ensuring that the infrastructure at Chalk River Laboratories can keep up with our efforts to advance innovative Canadian products and services towards real-world use, including carbon-free energy, cancer treatments and other therapies, non-proliferation technologies and waste management solutions.
This transformation is already underway, and we are actively decommissioning aging infrastructure and building new and renewed science and support facilities. CNL is also conducting extensive environmental remediation of the Chalk River Laboratories site which literally is clearing the way for the renewed campus.
Three new buildings that have already been completed under the revitalization efforts were made using mass timber products sourced right here in Canada. The mass timber is a renewable resource that reduces the carbon footprint of the Chalk River Laboratories campus.
These new buildings include the Minwamon Building, which opened in 2020 and serves a key role in campus-wide logistics, warehousing services and manages all items and vehicles entering or exiting the site; a Support Facility that is used for our maintenance and manufacturing activities which opened in 2021; and, the Science Collaboration Centre, which provides a home for CNL’s growing science and technology program, which opened in 2023. The Science Collaboration Centre is an open and inviting space that will enable collaboration with our international and academic partners from all over the world, and work to foster nuclear science innovation and research. It also serves as a welcoming event space for conferences and seminars.
The mass timber structures at the Minwamon Building, Support Facility and Science Collaboration Centre are the first modern mass timber buildings constructed on a federal site, and construction of the Support Facility and Science Collaboration Centre was supported through a grant from the Green Construction through Wood (GCWood) Program. This program is administered by Natural Resources Canada to increase the use of wood in infrastructure projects as a sustainable construction material and supports Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
In the three new buildings, mass timber has allowed CNL to sequester nearly 2,500 tonnes of CO2 and avoid nearly 1,000 tonnes of CO2 since 2015.
The three non-nuclear new builds which use 3,750 m3 of structure in mass timber means:
- 4,125 tonnes of CO2e embodied and avoided
- Approximately 800 cars off of Canadian roads for one year
- Energy for approximately 400 homes in Canada for one year
- Canadian forests regrow this timber in 10 minutes
Click here to learn more about the use of mass timber in our new builds.
The revitalization efforts continue with the construction of an Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre and ongoing enhancements to our supporting infrastructure to make the campus more modern, more efficient, and more environmentally sound.
Enabled by a funding commitment from AECL, we are transforming the Chalk River Laboratories into a modern and sustainable workplace that will allow us to become more adaptable and responsive to the needs of our customers in government, academia and the private sector, thereby generating further opportunities for CNL and Canada’s nuclear industry beyond traditional market segments. We will turn these new investments at AECL’s Chalk River Laboratories into advances in clean energy, healthy Canadians, and a cleaner environment.
For our local communities in the Upper Ottawa Valley, this revitalization means we will remain a stable, long-term partner and employer. We continue to rely on our skilled local workforce and the support of our neighbours in the region. As CNL grows so will the opportunities for our local supply chain. Through commercial and academic partnerships, we will attract innovative companies to work beside us, and the best and brightest candidates to work for us.
