Rwanda, US Nano Nuclear Energy sign MoU for construction of small nuclear reactors

The Rwandan government signed, on Wednesday August 14, a memorandum of understanding with the American company Nano Nuclear Energy for the construction of small nuclear reactors (SMR), announced the Rwandan Atomic Energy Authority (RAEB).

Smaller and simpler in construction than conventional power plants, SMRs are reactors that are mass-produced in a factory and then transported to their place of operation. The aim of this MoU “is to initiate cooperation between the two parties to facilitate the introduction of SMRs and micro-reactors”, according to a RAEB press release.

On a visit to Rwanda, Nano Nuclear Energy CEO James Walker said that construction of a test reactor would take place “within the next few years”. “We have an excellent base to build on. We see a very easy path to a highly developed civil nuclear program in Rwanda”, he assured, quoted in the press release.

RAEB Director Fidele Ndahayo welcomed the MoU, saying that “SMR technologies are currently being developed, and Rwanda wants to be part of the development process”. Rwanda, a small, landlocked country in the Great Lakes region with a population of around 13 million, generates more than half its electricity (51%) from thermal sources, ahead of hydroelectricity (43.9%) and solar power (4.2%).

In September 2023, the Kigali authorities signed an agreement with German-Canadian start-up Dual Fluid Energy to build an “experimental” civil nuclear reactor. Rwanda also signed an agreement in 2019 to build nuclear power plants in collaboration with Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency Rosatom, sparking strong opposition due to safety concerns. South Africa is the only country on the continent with a civil nuclear program, with two reactors in operation for over 30 years.