- Preferred Vendor Agreements (PVA) will accelerate the development of refurbishments and new builds of CANDU® reactors in Canada and around the world.
- A total of 11 companies now have preferred supplier status with Candu Energy
- Preferred suppliers will assist with the engineering development of updated CANDU reactors, accelerating the construction of new builds while reducing costs and risks.
- With rising geopolitical uncertainty, PVAs support Canada’s energy independence with a strong and integrated CANDU supply chain.
- PVAs build on more than $2.35 billion in purchase orders issued by Candu Energy since 2024 to the CANDU supply chain
Toronto, ON: September 11, 2025— Candu Energy Inc., an AtkinsRéalis company, today announced that it has concluded Preferred Vendor Agreements (PVAs) with two additional key suppliers in the CANDU® nuclear supply chain: Hitachi Energy and Nu-Tech Precision. These two preferred vendors join nine other industry suppliers who have a demonstrated history of excellence and have enabled Candu Energy to deliver projects on time and on budget as the steward and original equipment manufacturer of CANDU nuclear technology.
“These agreements are a win-win for the Canadian nuclear sector,” said Joe St. Julian, President, Nuclear, 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.”
The PVAs will ensure a closer collaboration and transparency between parties, focus on continuous improvement and engineering development leading to a derisked supply chain with reduced execution risk and costs, while accelerating the development of CANDU reactors and job creation. They will further incentivize investment in Canada, as partner companies prepare to support the development of new CANDU reactors. These companies will also benefit from preferential access to key contracts and will play an important role in the deployment of new CANDU reactors, in Canada and abroad.
CANDU technology: unparalleled impact on Canadian employment
Hitachi Energy, a global leader in electrification and a market leader in transformers, has developed TXellence, a global portfolio of transformers designed specifically for the stringent demands of nuclear energy. The company is executing the largest investment plan in the industry, which includes expanding its power transformer manufacturing facility in Varennes, Quebec, under a $140M CAD investment, creating more than 70 jobs in the province.
As Candu Energy’s PVAs increase in numbers, so do the economic benefits to Canada. Since 2024, Candu Energy Inc. has issued over $2.35 billion in purchase orders into the CANDU nuclear supply chain across more than 500 companies, 90.5 percent of which was issued to Canadian suppliers.
In 2024, a Conference Board of Canada study demonstrated that the manufacturing, engineering, and construction phase of a new four-unit CANDU reactor nuclear power station in Canada would generate about $41 billion in GDP equivalent to 20,000+ full time jobs and 324,000+ person-years of employment. This is in addition to almost $50 billion of GDP and 3,500 full-time equivalent jobs per year during the plant's operations phase. It would also generate $29 billion in additional tax revenue across municipal, provincial and federal governments over the 85-year life cycle of the plant, from design to decommissioning.
Candu Energy has hired more than 1,250 new employees since 2024 and will likely surpass a total headcount of 2,700 by the end of 2025. Jobs in the nuclear industry are well-paid, highly technical roles. Across Canada, an impressive 89% of nuclear jobs are classified as high-skill positions, encompassing both professional roles requiring university degrees and specialized technical trades. The nuclear industry’s need for skilled labour further solidifies its contribution to Canada’s knowledge-based economy and long-term prosperity.
CANDU technology: unapologetically Canadian
As the only nuclear technology designed, built, supplied and serviced from within the country, CANDU reactors benefit from deep and long-standing roots in the domestic nuclear supply chain. PVAs build on these relationships by allowing participating companies to be fully integrated into the design process of the next generation of CANDU reactors.
CANDU reactors use natural uranium fuel, which is abundant in Canada and does not require foreign enrichment. Approximately 90% of the supply chain for these reactors is domestic, supporting an estimated 89,000 jobs across various professional and skilled trades.
AtkinsRéalis launched the Canadians for CANDU campaign in 2024 to promote the deployment of CANDU nuclear technology at home and abroad. The campaign is spearheaded by Co-Chairs the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, and former Ontario Premier Mike Harris. To date, 38 organizations—including groups in organized labour, skilled trades, nuclear medicine, education, and Indigenous communities—have joined the movement as ambassadors.
About AtkinsRéalis
Created by the integration of long-standing organizations dating back to 1911, AtkinsRéalis is a world-class engineering services and nuclear company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. The breadth and depth of our capabilities are delivered to clients in strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear and Capital. News and information are available at www.atkinsrealis.com or follow us LinkedIn.
About AtkinsRéalis’ Nuclear Sector
AtkinsRéalis has over 70 years of global nuclear expertise, delivering nuclear technology products and full-service solutions to nuclear utilities around the world. AtkinsRéalis is the steward of CANDU® nuclear technology, operating on four continents, and provides advisory and engineering services to other nuclear developers. With an innovative technology portfolio, including access to over 500 patented solutions, AtkinsRéalis solves technically complex challenges across the whole nuclear lifecycle from design and new build through asset management and from life extension and late life management through decommissioning and waste management. AtkinsRéalis operates and manages government nuclear research sites, transforming ageing infrastructure and safely managing legacy nuclear waste. AtkinsRéalis’ CANDU technology also allows for the co-production of medical radioisotopes for cancer detection and treatment. The company also supports cancer treatment through its partnership with TerraPower to extract isotopes from legacy nuclear material. Learn more on our Nuclear market page.
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