Rosatom proposed that Nigeria and other African countries adopt the use of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMR) to address the perennial power shortage that they face.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rosatom, Central, and Southern Africa, Mr. Ryan Collyer, made the call at the Africa Energy Indaba forum, which held in Cape Town, South Africa. He emphasized the possible use of nuclear technologies for desalination purposes apart from heat and electricity supply.
According to him, adopting SMRs, such as the RITM-200, could be an excellent alternative to diesel generators used across countries in Africa, and especially Nigeria. Nigeria has an existing pact with Rosatom to build up to four nuclear power plants in the country. The country also recently asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for support to develop plans for up to 4000 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power capacity by 2025. The IAEA organized two missions to Nigeria in 2015, which found its emergency preparedness and response framework to be consistent with its safety standards.
Similarly, the IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service conducted a 10-day mission in 2017. It concluded that the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) was a committed regulatory body but had challenges with its independence to implement regulatory decisions and activities.
Russia’s RITM-200 reactor was designed for nuclear icebreakers, land-based small nuclear power plants, and floating nuclear power plants. Rosatom has already constructed six RITM-200 nuclear-powered reactors with two onboard Russia’s nuclear-powered Arktika icebreaker. The company is working on the next generation of offshore nuclear power plants as an optimized floating power unit (OFPU).
