Africa-Press. Rwanda has signed civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the United States and the American company Holtec International as part of its assessment of the feasibility of deploying small nuclear reactors to enhance its energy supply and support its economic growth.
Renee Sonderman, an American official in the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, stated, “The United States is working to expand and deepen its partnerships in the field of civil nuclear energy to enable American companies to export the latest and safest nuclear technologies to responsible partners worldwide.”
Holtec explained that the development agreement it signed with Rwanda aims to accelerate the deployment of its SMR-300 units. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are smaller than traditional nuclear reactors. There is a global trend towards developing SMRs due to their lower construction costs and quicker deployment, although there are doubts about their potential for widespread adoption.
South Africa has the only operational nuclear power plant on the African continent. The Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom is building another plant in Egypt.
Fideli Ndahayo, the CEO of the Rwanda Atomic Energy Authority, stated that Rwanda aims to operate its first nuclear reactor by the early 2030s. He explained that the agreement with Holtec aims to assess potential sites and study the feasibility of using the SMR-300 reactor as this technology matures.
