MONTREAL — AtkinsRéalis Group Inc.'s nuclear business drove growth in earnings and backlog in its latest quarter, as the engineering firm continues to capitalize on the global energy transition.
"Our nuclear business really is going strength to strength. Governments around the world, clients, utilities, they're all beginning to realize that ... a net-zero electrical energy grid — it has to have a component of nuclear for that baseload power," chief executive Ian Edwards said. "We're in negotiation for other life extensions across the world, because it's a really cheap form of electricity. You just replace the reactor components and give it an extra 30 years of life. So economically, it's almost a no-brainer," he told analysts on a conference call Friday.