South African Nuclear Reactor Receives R9b Investment
Jun 11, 2024 7:00 am
Pioneering South African Nuclear Reactor Receives R9 Billion Investment
3 min read
In April 2024, a significant agreement to build an innovative nuclear reactor in South Africa worth R9 billion was signed. The pioneering Small Modular Reactor (SMR), the first of its kind, is expected to generate 100MW of heat and 35MW of electricity. Construction is scheduled to begin before the year ends. Beyond the South African market, the project has attracted substantial interest from other African nations as well as countries and regions such as Australia, Canada, Indonesia, and the Middle East.
30 years ago, South Africa became the first country in the world to develop a small modular nuclear reactor. This placed South Africa in the global leading position when it came to SMR development, putting them years ahead of the rest of the world. In an interview with BizNews, Dr. Kelvin Kemm from Stratek Global, Stephen Edkins, Cleantech head of Koya Capital, and Warren La Fleur, Koya Capital’s director, shared their thoughts on this groundbreaking feat and what it would mean for the future of clean and renewable energy production.
While speaking on the global significance of this new kind of reactor, Dr. Kelvin Kemm from Stratek Global said “There’s a lot of problems around the world at the moment with electricity… the wind and solar is just not working out like a lot of people hoped.” This caused many investors around the world to start looking at nuclear as a long-term option due to its lengthy track record. Dr. Kemm also predicts that nuclear power will be the world’s fundamental power in 50 years’ time.
One of the major advantages of this new nuclear reactor is that it doesn’t have to be located near the sea or a lake to take advantage of the water-cooling needs. Instead, the company opted for a gas cooling system, removing any location restrictions for the reactor.
When asked why Koya Capital decided to invest R9 billion into this piece of South African technology, Edkins mentioned that it is their strong belief that Stratek is the team with the required technology, reliability, economic benefit, and the ability to produce the fuel required to run the nuclear reactor. He also mentioned that the ticking of all these boxes makes Stratek vertically integrated meaning that they have all the pieces in place to make the investment worthwhile.
In addition to that, Warren La Fleur cited that the low water consumption of this innovative generation 4 fusion reactor makes it very unique along with the passive design which promotes safety. This means that the reactor can be erected as close as possible to the energy demand, ideally in an industrial park or a desalination facility. La Fleur also added “It doesn’t require the traditional design of, you know, generator or generation, transmission and then subsequent distribution… to almost reimagine what a power system could look like… significantly impacting the cost.”
According to Edkins, they plan to begin construction before the end of the year at the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Centre on the border of Gauteng and North West.
Besides investing a record sum of money, Koya Capital will also be working with the Stratek team, ensuring that they get all the support and guidance required to make this nuclear reactor project a success, as well as working with other international investors to raise any additional capital needed.
The Stratek nuclear reactor has also been attracting attention from municipalities in Limpopo, the local agriculture industry and global governments. The R9 billion construction cost will be spent over the course of 5 years, after which the plant should be operational. If successful, Stratek could scale this project to build more nuclear reactors like this one all over the world.
Watch the full interview here: R9-billion nuclear reactor for SA (youtube.com)
What do you think of this one-of-a-kind nuclear reactor? Do you think that this could help South Africa end load shedding? Share your thoughts by replying to this email!
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