AfrElec: South Africa to work with Rosatom on radioactive waste management

The management arm of Rosatom’s nuclear fuel division has signed a memorandum on cooperation with South Africa’s AllWeld Nuclear, according to a press statement from Russia’s state-controlled atomic energy agency, Interfax reported on November 7.

The companies aim to work jointly “in the area of decommissioning and management of radioactive waste,” as stated in the release.

“The key aspects of cooperation will be development of infrastructure for radioactive waste management, including processing, storage and disposal, as well as the design and manufacture of components for equipment needed to handle tasks in this area in South Africa,” Rosatom’s statement said.

Although Rosatom currently has no nuclear power projects in South Africa, reports from earlier in the year indicate that the Russian company is considering a floating nuclear power plant (NPP) project with the country.

South African Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa mentioned in a late-September interview with Izvestia that the government intended to deepen nuclear technology cooperation with Russia.

Ramokgopa noted that the two countries already collaborate on nuclear energy through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), particularly in technology development and small modular reactors (SMRs), a recent advancement in the nuclear power sector.

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