The High-Stakes Game: Africa’s Bold Step into Nuclear Energy

Africa has rich energy resources but continues to remain an energy-poor continent. The industrialisation potential of the continent and its rapidly growing population have caused a sharp increase in demand for electricity. Without solving the energy deficit, neither economic growth nor sustainable development nor improvement of citizens’ welfare will be possible. Yet, nuclear capacity has remained constant in Africa, with the region’s only operational nuclear power plant located in South Africa.

However, prospects of the use of nuclear power in other African countries look promising, as governments plan to include nuclear power in their energy mix. Egypt is currently constructing a four-unit NPP facility, with the first unit projected to be commissioned in 2028. Several countries have expressed interest in recent years in developing nuclear power for electricity generation and desalination, including Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. The demand for uranium on the continent is projected to increase in the coming decade.

Small modular reactors (SMRs) typically have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit and can be shop fabricated and transported as modules to be assembled on site. SMRs can rely on a variety of technologies, from proven water cooled reactors to more innovative metal cooled, gas cooled or molten salt reactors. Some reactors that are not water cooled use fast neutrons.

Ghana and Rwanda are leading the race to deploy Africa’s first small modular nuclear reactors, the head of the industry’s main global trade group said in an interview. While South Africa is the only African country with its own nuclear power plants, and Egypt is building its own, but both have large-scale, traditional facilities. Meanwhile, experts are questioning the feasibility of building nuclear power plants in Africa.

“There is a lot of talk about nuclear programmes in Africa, but these ideas are closer to fantasy than industrial reality,” said Mycle Schneider, project coordinator at the World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR). The first major obstacle, he told RFI, is the size of grids. Moreover, the International Atomic Energy Agency states that an average large nuclear reactor is around 1,000 megawatts (MW) or one gigawatt (GW). However, only four African countries have a grid larger than 10,000MW or 10GW – Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Nigeria. Most other African nations have much smaller grids.

Embracing Nuclear for Transformation

Rapid population growth, urbanization and economic development are driving the future increases in energy demand on the African continent. The development of the energy sector to serve the increasing demand faces multiple, interwoven challenges. Access to electricity remains a significant challenge, with millions lacking reliable electricity supply. Expanding electricity access while ensuring sustainability is complex, especially as countries balance energy sector requirements with other competing priorities.

An effective way to solve the energy shortage may be the introduction of nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is not only able to overcome the electricity deficit in African countries, but can also contribute to a soft transition from environmentally polluting fossil-fuelled power plants to carbon-free technologies. There are secondary uses such as desalination plants, process heat, or industrial uses (mining, hydrogen production) where nuclear may help.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Bank have recently lifted or eased some barriers to financing nuclear energy in developing countries, including help with expertise, legal/regulatory frameworks, and accelerating Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). External suppliers and vendors such as Russia’s Rosatom, Chinese firms, and others are heavily involved in offering reactor technology, loans, and partnerships.

For instance, Koeberg power station, north of Cape Town, is currently the only commercial nuclear power plant in Africa and its two units contribute around 1,860 megawatts or 5% of national power supply. “Koeberg exemplifies how nuclear power can align economic and environmental priorities to create a sustainable energy future,” Dan Marokane, Eskom’s chief executive officer, said in a statement last year.

Another is being built by Russian company Rosatom in Egypt, with the first of four reactors set to come online in 2026. This nuclear project is planned for development in Matrouh Governorate on the Mediterranean coast, approximately 250km west of Alexandria. The project includes the construction of a 4.8GW nuclear power plant comprising four VVER-1200 nuclear reactors of AES-2206 design that are capable of producing 1.2GW each.

While Kenya is on track to start construction on its first nuclear power plant by 2027, with electricity generation to begin by 2034, officials from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) said at a parliamentary hearing in 2024. Kenya intends to construct a 1000MW nuclear plant in Bondo,Siaya County. The development of this nuclear project by Kenya will position the country as a nuclear hub in the region and Africa in general.

This emerging trend reflects a continental shift in energy policy, acknowledging nuclear power as an essential component of comprehensive energy strategies to address the continent’s persistent electricity access deficits. Successful implementation of appropriate nuclear development frameworks could enable Africa to meet 15–20 % of its electricity needs by 2040 while reducing carbon emissions by 180 million tonnes annually, equivalent to removing 40 million cars from roads.

Still, concerns remain. Twelve civil society organizations warn that nuclear projects require massive investments in foreign currency, which can worsen debt burdens and deepen technological dependence. From 2017 to 2024, over 90% of new reactors worldwide were built by Russia and China. In Africa, Russia, through Rosatom, remains the dominant player, while China and the United States seek footholds in the growing SMR market.

“We’ve had longstanding difficulties with oil and gas infrastructure (…) Security at a nuclear power station would need to be akin to a military base,” warned Philip Jakpor of the NGO Renevlyn Development Initiative. Critics also raise concerns over waste management and recurring delays in nuclear projects, often underestimated by governments. Likewise, some countries see it as prestige/ technological leap; developing local expertise and capabilities can have spillover benefits. 

Rising to the Challenge

By and large, affordability is another major challenge, as high costs of electricity and fuels hinder both individual consumption and industrial competitiveness. Infrastructure development and financing present critical obstacles, with insufficient investments in power generation, transmission and distribution networks. Many energy projects struggle to secure funding, further leading to delays and inefficiencies.

The renewed interest in nuclear energy comes as nearly 600 million Africans still lack reliable electricity. The World Bank sees nuclear power as key to providing the stable base-load energy needed for industrial growth, hospitals, and essential services, predicting electricity demand in developing countries will more than double by 2035.

The road to nuclear energy is complex and full of difficulties. Financing challenges, supply chain disruptions, an uncertain talent pipeline, and — critically — a widening shortfall of the uranium required to run nuclear power facilities all loom as issues for a sector seen as key to addressing electricity demand growth while weaning grids off fossil fuels. And while each problem is addressable, when taken in sum they point to the scale of the challenge facing the sector.

“Kenya’s grid is about 3.3GW, so the largest unit should be around 300MW, which is much less than a large nuclear reactor,” Schneider said. “In Rwanda, the total national grid is 300MW. So we’re in a situation where an ordinary nuclear power plant would absolutely not have the grid size needed in most African countries.”

Lately, MTN Nigeria’s chief executive made the case for more nuclear power in Africa to supply the continent’s new data centers in the pipeline. Africa has fallen behind wealthier regions in the global rush to build the digital infrastructure required for AI, housing less than 1% of the world’s AI data center capacity. Most of Africa’s data centers are concentrated in South Africa, the continent’s largest economy.

Yet the path to generating nuclear power is far from easy. Recent nuclear projects around the world have been beset by lengthy delays and massive cost overruns. Although nuclear power can provide a stable supply of baseload energy, the huge construction bill will make projects difficult to finance for African governments.

African governments have long complained that ratings agencies unfairly downgrade them relative to non-African peers, pushing up borrowing costs. “Let’s do these projects, bearing in mind that the first ones will suffer that risk premium. But going forward, we need to be challenging systemically… those sort of perceptions,” said Loyiso Tyabashe, chief executive of the South Africa Nuclear Energy Corporation.

Schneider argues that African countries need decentralised energy production systems, a mix of renewable energy and power systems that can be built quickly, unlike nuclear power plants. “The wonderful opportunity on a continent like Africa is that in many places everything has to be done from the beginning,” he said. “The fact that there are no grids or very small grids can be an opportunity to implement advanced, highly flexible grids designed for the future, with decentralised production of solar, wind or other energies, and biomass.”