AtkinsRéalis and NVIDIA Partner to Power AI Data Centers With CANDU Nuclear Technology

AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (TSX: ATRL) announced on March 16 that it is collaborating with NVIDIA to explore whether standardized CANDU pressurized heavy water reactors could serve as the low-carbon power backbone for gigawatt-class AI data centres, pairing the Canadian engineering firm's 70-year nuclear track record with NVIDIA's Omniverse DSX digital twin and accelerated computing platform.

The collaboration centers on using NVIDIA's Omniverse libraries, Omniverse DSX Blueprint, and OpenUSD framework to build 3D digital twins of integrated nuclear and data centre facilities before any physical construction begins. NVIDIA's tools can simulate heat flow, electrical loads, layout and workflow design in highly complex systems, letting engineers test performance and identify problems in a virtual environment. Agentic AI, large language models and visual language models are also in scope to streamline engineering workflows and accelerate construction schedules.

AtkinsRéalis holds the collaboration from a strong position: through its wholly-owned subsidiary Candu Energy, it is the exclusive license holder and original equipment manufacturer of CANDU reactor technology. The firm will examine how its capabilities in power distribution, cooling systems, resilience, modular engineering and construction efficiency can support the deployment of NVIDIA DSX-based AI infrastructure. High-fidelity simulation tools, the companies said, could also help modernize nuclear delivery and support regulatory licensing pathways, a significant claim in a sector where licensing timelines routinely constrain project schedules.

"AtkinsRéalis brings deep engineering and delivery expertise across complex infrastructure and a 70-year legacy of excellence in the nuclear industry," said Ian Edwards, President and CEO of AtkinsRéalis. "This collaboration enables us to leverage these strengths in energy, infrastructure and complex project delivery to complement Nvidia's leadership in accelerated computing to help power critical AI data centres."

Vladimir Troy, Vice President of AI Infrastructure at NVIDIA, framed the partnership's upside in scaling terms: "Pairing AtkinsRéalis' deep engineering and nuclear expertise with the NVIDIA DSX Blueprint can help scale the deployment of efficient next-generation AI factories with accelerated computing and digital twins."

A promotional video associated with the announcement, as noted in coverage compiling the press release materials, depicts a site containing two large-scale CANDU reactors, a shared switchyard and a massive NVIDIA-branded data centre. The companies have not confirmed whether that depiction represents a specific proposed layout or a conceptual illustration, and they have not disclosed any project timelines, target jurisdictions or financial terms.

The partnership is explicitly exploratory. No pilot projects, feasibility study schedules or regulatory engagements have been announced. AtkinsRéalis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, enters the collaboration as global AI infrastructure demand continues to outpace available power supply, a dynamic that has pushed nuclear energy into serious consideration as a baseload energy source for data centre operators weighing long-term power security against carbon commitments. Centrus Energy separately announced a partnership with Palantir Technologies to apply Palantir's software to its uranium enrichment capacity expansion, signaling that the crossover between nuclear operations and AI-era technology companies is broadening well beyond the reactor gate.