The
CANDU (short for
CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactor is a Canadian-developed,
pressurized heavy water reactor used for
generating electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium-oxide (
heavy water)
moderator and its use of (originally,
natural)
uranium fuel. CANDU reactors were first developed in the late 1950s and 1960s by a partnership between
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), the
Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario (now
Ontario Power Generation), Canadian
General Electric (now GE Canada), and other companies. All power reactors built in
Canada are of the CANDU type. The reactor is also marketed abroad and there are CANDU-type units operating in
India,
Pakistan,
Argentina,
South Korea,
Romania and
China. In October 2011, the Canadian Federal Government licensed the CANDU design to
Candu Energy (a wholly owned subsidiary of
SNC-Lavalin), which also acquired the former reactor development and marketing division of AECL at that time.