The South African Cabinet has approved a programme to develop human capital and improve research and innovation in relation to the pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) project, which has been called the world’s sexiest baby nuclear reactor by its proponents.
The most immediate beneficiary of the Cabinet decision will be technology group IST, which should now get a R260-million contract for the design of three key systems for the full-scale demonstration plant at Koeberg.
PBMR technology in South Africa has been under development for the past 10 years, while it has worked for more than 20 years in Germany. It has also been implemented for lesser periods in other parts of the world such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
The aim of the South African PBMR is to provide a cheaper form of electricity for those who have no or limited access to electricity.
The PBMR project started life in 1993 when Eskom’s then newly appointed research manager, Steve Lennon, commissioned a technology scan to assess future energy sources for the utility.
The scientist appointed by Lennon to oversee the technology scan, Dave Nicholls, now adviser to the PBMR project, came across pebble-bed modular technology that had been abandoned by German utilities.
Gencor also considered the PBMR technology with development work by Lurgi for its Torbanite project in Mpumalanga before oil prices collapsed in 1986.
A PBMR corporation was formed to oversee the commercialisation of the mini nuclear reactor and comprised Eskom (30%), the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (25%) and British Nuclear Fuel Limited (22,5%). A 10% stake has been earmarked for a black empowerment stake and the remaining 12,5% for a foreign partner.
US energy company Exelon, which had a 12,5% stake in PBMR until 2002, was instrumental in forcing the PBMR technology on to the US government’s energy agenda, which has included it on its list of technologies to reduce the country’s dependence on oil as its main energy source.
If PBMR can prove that it can produce hydrogen at commercial levels it may potentially offer a huge source of revenue to the company. Another spin-off application is to use low-temperature waste heat for seawater desalination.
Talks are under way to find other international partners to provide the full $1-billion required to construct a 110 megawatt demonstration unit at Koeberg north of Cape Town, and a fuel plant at Pelindaba, west of Pretoria.
Last year’s black-outs in Europe, Asia and North America highlighted the urgent need for more electricity-generation capacity. Coal is not the answer, given environmental concerns about carbon dioxide emissions.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has forecast a threefold rise in nuclear power globally to one trillion watts by 2050, a move that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 1,8-billion tons.
At the end of 2002, there were 441 nuclear power plants operating in 30 countries, representing a total capacity of 359 gigawatts, more than 10 000 reactor-years of operating experience, 16% of global electricity generation and 7% of global primary energy use.
In at least 16 countries, nuclear power contributes more than 25% of the total electricity produced in each of those countries, with France and Lithuania producing more than 80% of their total electricity from nuclear power.
China is the latest country to face a severe shortage of electricity. Although the Three Gorges Dam will address some of this shortage, China also aims to increase its reliance on nuclear power from its current 1,4%.
Chinese officials estimate that by 2020 the country will need additional capacity of 32 000 megawatts from the nuclear industry, or about 300 PBMRs.
China currently has nine reactors with a capacity of 6 450 megawatts with technology supplied by Canada, France, Japan, and Russia.
Although China and the US signed an agreement on nuclear technology transfer in 1998, the US has been holding on tightly to its export of high-technology products to China, and nuclear technology is particularly restricted. — I-Net Bridge