AtkinsRéalis, the Montreal-based engineering firm with six decades of nuclear experience, is working to get its CANDU pressurized heavy-water reactor technology licensed in the United States. The reason is straightforward: AI data centers need enormous amounts of electricity, and nuclear is one of the few energy sources that can deliver it around the clock without carbon emissions.
The company’s nuclear division now accounts for roughly 25% of total revenue, up from 15% just two years ago. Quarterly profit jumped 34% year-over-year, driven largely by that segment’s growth.
From reactors to AI factories
On March 16, AtkinsRéalis announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to design nuclear-powered “AI factories.” The partnership aims to integrate CANDU nuclear solutions directly into AI data center designs, essentially building power plants and compute facilities as a single package.
On May 13, AtkinsRéalis signed a strategic alliance with First American Nuclear, known as FANCO, to provide exclusive engineering, procurement, construction, and management services for EAGL 1 small modular reactors across North America. That deal could generate up to $250 million in service revenues over five years.
