A 2.1 million pound Basemat module for Unit 1 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) has been lifted and installed at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site in Durham.
The major construction milestone was announced yesterday by Ontario Minister of Energy and Mines, Stephen Lecce, at the CNA2026 Conference in Ottawa.
Ontario is building the Western World’s first SMR in Clarington which is projected to create some 18,000 jobs.
This precision lift – the equivalent of lifting more than three Airbus A380 airliners – was executed by one of the world’s largest crawler cranes, lowering the material within millimetre precision and represents the first foundation of a new nuclear reactor to be built in Ontario in over 30 years, said a provincial statement.
The LR/LE 12500-1.0 crawler crane has up to 2,500 tons (5.5 million pounds) lifting capacity and more than 200 metres of reach.
100+ Canadian Companies Sign Up
Ontario also announced that more than 100 Canadian companies have signed onto the SMR supply chain. Building on the more than 80 northern and rural Ontario companies that have already signed agreements with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and its partners to deliver this first-of-its-kind project, sixteen new Ontario-based companies, and six companies from Quebec and Alberta have joined the supply chain to support the SMR builds. Recently awarded contracts include:
- Walters Group, based in Hamilton, has been awarded a $44.5 million contract for structural steel.
- Marmon Industrial Water, based in Toronto, has been awarded a $17.8 million contract for a condensate purification package.
- Tractel, based in Scarborough, has been awarded a $9.9 million contract for the reactor building weather enclosure.
- Hooper Welding, based in Oakville, has been awarded an $8.8 million contract for sampling and collection tanks.
80% Spending To Go To Ontario
The construction, operation and maintenance of the four units will add $38.5 billion to Canada’s GDP over the next 65 years. The government has worked with Ontario Power Generation to ensure that 80 per cent of project spending goes to Ontario companies and that construction and operations will protect Ontario workers and jobs by sustaining an estimated 3,800 highly-skilled, good-paying jobs for the next 65 years.
During project development OPG will continue to build respectful, collaborative relationships with the communities of the Williams Treaties First Nations, while pursuing potential opportunities for their equity partnership in the project. This would be a first-of-its-kind partnership in Canada for nuclear energy generation, reflecting the government and OPG’s commitment to ensure local First Nations benefit from new projects in their territories.
Project Timeline
In 2025, the Ontario government approved OPG’s plan to begin construction on the first of four SMRs at the Darlington nuclear site. Once complete, the Darlington New Nuclear Project’s four SMRs will produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power 1.2 million homes.
OPG began site preparation for the first SMR in December 2022. Ontario announced that OPG would begin planning and licensing for three additional SMRs, for a total of four SMRs at the Darlington nuclear site in July 2023. OPG obtained a Licence to Construct (LTC) for Unit 1 from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in April 2025. OPG filed its Licence to Operate (LTO) application for Unit 1 to the CNSC in March 2026.
“With the foundation of the first Small Modular Reactor at the Darlington New Nuclear Project in place, we are now able to begin building up, with the project team now advancing construction on the reactor building’s structure, internal systems and components,” said Nicolle Butcher, OPG President and CEO.
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