ATS Corporation develops Pickering retube tools ahead of 2027 work
OPG's Sept. 25 supplier post names ATS's tooling and a 125,000-square-foot facility addition without stating a contract value or delivery date.
Ines Halvorsen
January 2027 is the targeted start for execution of Pickering's 4-reactor refurbishment program, and ATS Corporation TSEATS is developing retube tooling for that work, Ontario Power Generation said Friday. OPG estimated the full refurbishment at C$26.8 billion in November 2025, but its Sept. 25 post gave no value for ATS's work. In that post, the utility called ATS Industrial Automation a Cambridge-based project partner without stating an order term or tool delivery date.
ATS shares traded at C$27.04, up 1.2 per cent on the day, at 3:58 p.m. EDT in Toronto on Friday, TSEATS. The price is a market reading after OPG's post, not a measure of the value of ATS's Pickering work.
OPG said ATS is developing a retube tooling platform to remove and replace reactor components. The utility's wording describes a tool still in development; its Sept. 25 post does not identify a completed delivery, a price or an acceptance date.
"ATS is also developing several specialized tools to support the removal, inspection, and re-installation of fuel channels at Pickering Nuclear," OPG said in its Sept. 25 post.
OPG also said ATS recently added a new facility with 125,000 square feet to support the refurbishment. Its Sept. 25 post does not give an opening date, construction cost or production schedule for that space. The 125,000-square-foot figure describes added floor area; it does not state ATS's revenue from the work.
Pickering Units Face Fuel-Channel Replacement
OPG's November 2025 project account says the refurbishment covers Units 5 to 8. The utility expects the program to secure 2,100 megawatts for more than 30 years.
Each reactor requires replacement of 380 fuel channels, according to OPG. The Friday supplier post did not assign a number of channels or tools to ATS.
ATS describes its nuclear refurbishment business as designing, building and testing custom remote tooling systems. Its published product page includes automated inspection and fuel-channel installation among its capabilities, but it does not set out a Pickering delivery schedule.
The Province of Ontario gave OPG the go-ahead for the 4-unit refurbishment in November 2025. In that account, OPG said it had applied to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a 10-year licence that would cover refurbishment and later operations. A separate Sept. 21 release described the January 2027 execution start as pending regulatory approval.
At the same station, Aecon Group Inc. TSEARE said on Sept. 21 that its teams received C$3 billion in Pickering construction contracts, with C$1.75 billion attributable to Aecon and due for its third-quarter backlog. Aecon's disclosed awards cover reactor component and turbine-generator work. They do not price ATS's tooling role.
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The next dated project checkpoint is January 2027, when execution is expected to begin if the required regulatory approval is in place. OPG's Sept. 25 post did not give a delivery or acceptance date for ATS's tools.
