2024-09-13 12:42:16
Small nuclear reactors (SMRs) are considered the future of energy in Africa. On the continent, where half of the population does not have access to electricity and where industrial production is still struggling, many agreements have been signed recently.
We are witnessing a rush to SMRs. Almost a year ago, the Mali and the Burkina Faso signed cooperation agreements with Russian Rosatom. THE Ghana chose the American company Regnum Technology at the end of August. Other projects are still in the announcement stage, especially in South Africa and in Nigeria. Proponents of SMR praise their abilities: a revolution knowledge decided to normalize the use of nuclear power. A way to quickly decarbonize your electricity production. Without delays, charge explosions and other malfunctions of large reactors.
Promises but little concrete
It is difficult to get references because current SMRs are almost nowhere. There are two in Russia, including one on a ship that supplies electricity to a small Arctic town, one in China and a fourth being operated in Argentina. This is a technology that has been talked about a lot for about twenty years now but which has yet to actually serve a population. The US-based Energy Economics Institute of Financial Analysis recently published reportSMRs are considered too expensive, too slow, and too risky.
Prices are higher than expected
An example with Russian SMRs whose construction costs have quadrupled. He is more concerned with the Argentinian example. The CAREM 25, a 25 MegaWatt research reactor designed to operate as a prototype. Costs have increased by 600% since work on the project began in 2013. The risk for the States is to end up with huge surpluses.
Especially since the existing SMRs don’t work that fast. From the estimated 3 to 4 years of construction, we went to 12/13 years for the 4 Russian, Chinese and Argentine reactors. The economic model of SMR is based precisely on the production of their company… This is still far from being the case, assure some experts.
What protection for these reactors?
This is one of the pro-SMR arguments. They will be more safe, their hermetic structure will eliminate any risk of melting the core and therefore leakage of the radioactive product. Experts are also concerned from a security point of view. Who will oversee this facility in areas experiencing armed conflict? The training of engineers by civilian nuclear actors has other consequences. Physicist Harry Bernas explains in his new work Wonderful clouds that SMRs are also an avenue for States” to access military nuclear power more or less with little fuss ».
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