African countries have been advised on how to take the next steps in adapting to nuclear energy for development, with a re-commitment of support in the financial and technical journey that will enable the continent to exploit a resource that has remained underutilized for decades.
This is one of the highlights of the just-concluded Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit For Africa (NEISA) held in Kigali, which showed that Africa has seriously lagged behind in nuclear energy development.
Apparently, this is despite the increasing climate change crisis and the demand for electricity for 600 million Africans, which will be further exacerbated by the fact that the global population is estimated to reach 9.5 billion by 2030, with 25% of this in Africa.
The summit sessions discussed the need for cooperation and knowledge sharing in nuclear energy, soliciting financing, putting in place infrastructure, and capacity building to allow Africa to tap into the vast opportunities that nuclear power presents.
An average of about $50 billion is needed to invest in nuclear energy every year, with annual investments expected to increase to $120 billion by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Economic Forum (WEF).
African countries were counting on the inaugural NEISA to determine their financial needs after this summit.
To give hope and enable Africa to catch up with the rest of the world in developing its energy resources, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that nuclear power is an enabler to address global challenges, and Africa must be part of the trend to find sustainable solutions.
“Not every country will have nuclear, but we are not going to move into globalization without Africa. There is a need to develop its infrastructure, capacity building up to speed to host these nuclear reactors, but most importantly, consider the security and safety of facilities, which are key,” Grossi said.
To add value to Africa’s nuclear ambitions, Grossi committed on behalf of IAEA that they will accompany Africa to have a strong regulatory system to meet these requirements.
“We will support Africa’s financial needs, and this is why the IAEA is there, and we are here to work with you. For those who have not started working with us, and for those who are working with you, we will be here. There is no reason why Africa shouldn’t benefit from this,” Grossi noted.
Grossi noted that Rwanda, the NEISA host country, has been a case in point, and IAEA will be discussing with the Rwandan president Paul Kagame to have a first nuclear plant that is going to start in a couple of years as an example to show that nuclear can be used for development.
Currently, countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana have shown interest in nuclear energy development, and only South Africa has outlined its success story, while countries like Ghana, which have had nuclear plans for over 40 years, lag behind and have been derailed by meeting regulations and international safety standards.
Rwanda, a new and ambitious entrant into the nuclear business has already set policies and regulations but also struck partnership deals with nuclear giants.
Rwanda’s SMRs and MMRs nuclear plans are set to be operational by 2030 with over 230 specialists trained by 2028 with the support of existing partner countries like Russia, and the newly enticed nuclear powers such as China and South Korea.
Some nuclear experts believe that this is because many African countries have been working in silos and have not developed necessary aspects such as facilities and human capital.
IAEA says that they have been active and supporting many of the countries, but the issue of financing, also raised at the summit, will be addressed. According to DG Grossi, they are working with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other continental development banks to provide this needed financing.
Selma Ali, Member of the International Pre-licensing of EU-SMR-LFR Project, IAEA, said that Africa should start its nuclear journey by adopting one model of safety standards and regulations for all 54 countries.
“We are developing safety standards for Africa (153 standards so far), and they are not mandatory but country-driven. In August in the Netherlands, we are putting out these SMR standards which they can apply for,” Ali said.
Prof. Samuel Dampare, Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, agreed that despite Ghana not having taken action on its nuclear potential, which has been around for 40 years.
He affirmed that this is the time to act, and it will require harmonizing existing establishments and advancing partnerships with other advanced nuclear countries to address challenges and opportunities, especially in regulatory business.
PHOTOS By Faustin Nkurunziza (OGS)
