​Bruce Power, ATS Industrial Automation set new standard for reactor refurbishment

Building on the success of the first-of-a-kind robotic tooling deployed in the Unit 3 Major Component Replacement (MCR) and automation of reactor inspection and installation work, Bruce Power has signed a key long-term service contract with ATS Industrial Automation Inc. (ATS) for the remaining MCR projects.

The agreement further cements Bruce Power’s partnership with ATS to provide best-in-class automated tools to skilled tradespeople to drive Ontario’s largest clean-energy infrastructure project.

“By combining the newest technology with proven best-practices, we can continue to deliver on-time, on-budget refurbishments to the highest standard of safety,” said Bruce Power’s David Furr, vice-president of supply chain.

“We have seen tremendous value from the Ontario-made automated tooling from ATS in driving safety, quality and efficiency in our MCR program, and this continued partnership will be essential to improving performance with each successive unit to benefit the people of Ontario.”

The contract, valued at $62.8-million, builds on the long-standing strategic partnership between Bruce Power and ATS to develop various automation tools and innovations to support the safe, on-time, and on-budget delivery of Bruce Power’s MCR program.

Under the agreement, ATS will be on-site at Bruce Power as part of the tooling performance team, supporting the use of the ATS automated fuel channel removal tools, automated inspection tools, automated calandria tube installation and semi-automated fuel channel installation tools for Bruce Power’s MCR projects in Units 4, 5, 7 and 8.

The long-term agreement, set to start in 2025 and last until 2032, will also oversee the refurbishment and reconditioning of the tooling in order to support its continued operation and performance.

ATS will continue to expand its full lifecycle service, offering innovative automated solutions, while strengthening its strategic partnership with Bruce Power.

“The automated inspection and installation tooling developed by ATS for Bruce Power delivers an unmatched level of precision, safety and efficiency by automating manual and repetitive processes, allowing skilled tradespeople to focus on other value-added tasks,” said ATS Industrial Automation’s Matthew Wong, vice-president of commercial nuclear.

“ATS has the expertise and knowledge to assist the skilled tradespeople in the completion of the reactor refurbishment activities safely and effectively.”