Candu Energy: Localisation for Nuclear Construction Projects

Candu Energy, an AtkinsRéalis company, is reinforcing Canada’s global position in nuclear infrastructure by expanding its Preferred Vendor Agreements (PVAs) to include Hitachi Energy and Nu-Tech Precision.

These agreements are a key part of Candu Energy’s procurement strategy that focuses on building strategic supplier partnerships, creating domestic value and de-risking the nuclear supply chain.

By adding these suppliers to its CANDU nuclear supply chain, Candu Energy now has a network of 11 partners, focused on performance innovation and reliability.

This approach helps to ensure that construction and engineering projects remain on schedule and within budget, while strengthening Canada's reputation in the nuclear engineering field.

Strategic procurement and project delivery

The PVA model embeds strategic supplier collaboration directly into Candu Energy's procurement framework. This means each vendor works closely with Candu Energy's engineering and project delivery teams.

The model is designed to increase transparency, encourage continuous improvement and involve suppliers early in the design and production phases of projects.

The emphasis is on long-term sourcing relationships, over transactional contracting, which aligns suppliers with shared targets for cost efficiency and schedule performance.

"These agreements are a win-win for the Canadian nuclear sector," says Joe St. Julian, President, Nuclear at AtkinsRéalis.

"By providing preferred partner companies with Canadian operations a stable, predictable stream of business and simplifying the purchasing process we will accelerate the development of CANDU reactors while further reducing costs and execution risk."

Strengthening domestic manufacturing

The expansion of PVAs brings measurable benefits to the economy and supply chain.

Since 2024, Candu Energy has issued more than CAD$2.35bn (approx US$1.7bn) in procurement contracts to at least 500 companies.

Of this total, 90.5% was awarded to Canadian suppliers. This localisation of the sourcing approach strengthens domestic manufacturing capacity and supports Canada's industrial sovereignty in the development of nuclear systems.

Among the new partners Hitachi Energy a global company in electrification and transformer technology is investing CAD$140m (approx US$101.6m) to expand its facility in Varennes, Quebec. This project is expected to create over 70 skilled jobs and support Candu’s long-term supply programme for nuclear-grade transformers. Nu-Tech Precision is another key addition to the PVA network.

Powering economic growth and job creation

The construction and engineering of nuclear facilities could have a major impact on the Canadian economy.

According to a 2024 Conference Board of Canada study, the manufacturing, engineering and construction of a four-unit CANDU nuclear facility would generate approximately CAD$41bn (approx US$ 29.7bn) in GDP.

It would also create over 20,000 full-time equivalent roles and provide 324,000 person-years of employment.

Over its lifecycle, a single plant could contribute nearly CAD$50bn (approx US$36.2bn) in GDP and produce CAD$29bn (approx US$21bn) in tax revenues for municipal provincial and federal governments.

The growth in Candu Energy's workforce shows the sector's momentum. Candu Energy has hired more than 1,250 new employees since 2024 and expects its staff to reach 2,700 by the end of 2025. Across the industry 89% of nuclear jobs in Canada are classified as high-skill positions contributing to a knowledge-based economy centred on technical expertise.