January 18, 2008

HAMILTON RECEIVES $4 MILLION FOR RESEARCH

Today’s announcement represents the second round of funding under the Ontario Research Fund’s Research Excellence program. In this round, the government is providing $4,849,755 to support a world-class project at McMaster University in Hamilton. Funding will be matched by five industry and other partners participating in the projects.

Nuclear Ontario: A University-based Research Network Supporting CANDU Nuclear Technology in Ontario

Maintaining Ontario’s leadership nuclear energy

Lead Researcher: Dr. John C. Luxat
Total project cost: $14,577,823
Provincial funding: $4,849,755

Key Private Sector Partners:
AECL, UNENE

Nuclear power, both here at home in Ontario and world-wide, is poised to play a major role in meeting the increasing demand for electricity, while cutting the emission of greenhouse gases. Ontario is a leader in nuclear energy, with CANDU reactors supplying 40% of the province’s energy needs. But there are challenges to overcome if we’re to continue to be a leader in this field, including the need to develop innovative solutions for the long-term management of spent fuel, and solutions to ensure the reliability of materials used in nuclear reactors. McMaster University will assemble a multidisciplinary nuclear engineering team that includes experts in reactor physics, nuclear reactor safety, materials science, corrosion science and chemistry and radiation safety to develop technologies that support both existing and advanced CANDU designs.

Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence Program

This second round of funding under the Research Excellence program will invest  $114,709,614 to support 19 world-class projects at nine Ontario universities, institutes and hospitals. Funding will be matched by 107 major industry and other partners participating in the projects.

For more information about the Ontario Research Fund, please visit www.ontario.ca/innovation.