Page 46 - Energize November 2022

TECHNICAL

Small modular reactors:

a promising start

by Chris Meyer, independent consultant

ome years ago, an Eskom small budget, just to carry out basic
spokesperson unintentionally paper calculations.
Sbecame famous by saying, when Over the next few years, the project
referring to load shedding, ‘in the light grew rapidly. Eventually there was a
of the current darkness’. However, huge nuclear reactor development
despite the current gloom, this quote team of about 900 people, with another
now has a positive aspect. Some 12 years 1000 people at universities, research
after South Africa’s PBMR project was institutes, and private companies around
shut down, it is now being reexamined the world, working on the project.
as, quite literally, a source of light in The reactor used a revolutionary
the current darkness caused by load advanced design and progressed to
shedding, as South Africa needs to the point at which it was ready to be
replace old coal-fired plants. With the built. Various large test assemblies were
increasing interest in nuclear power, built at North-West University which all
small modular reactors (SMRs) are now worked as designed. The pressure vessel
being seriously considered as viable was ordered from Japan and delivered
additions to conventional nuclear Figure 1: Dr Kelvin Kemm. to South Africa.
plants. A glance at a detailed review of
SMRs by the World Nuclear Association Starting small: the world’s first A very bad year
(see https://www.world-nuclear.org/ SMR Then the infamous year of 2008
information-library/nuclear-fuel- “I [Dr Kemm] was invited to present the arrived. That was the year in which
cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/small- PBMR concept to the annual conference the US subprime mortgage bond issue
nuclear-power-reactors.aspx) shows a of the World Nuclear Association in triggered an international financial crisis.
bewildering number of different projects London in 1995. The lecture theatre Major US banks which had indicated
(ca 70) at varying stages of development was filled to over-capacity with people their willingness to be involved in the
in some ten countries around the world. sitting on the floor. In my pocket I had a PBMR project began to withdraw. The
One particularly interesting SMR hand-signed letter from the head of the South African interest was not so much
is the HTMR-100, which developed London financial company which had financial but mainly to gain international
from the PBMR project. For a unique carried out the independent financial credibility for the financial structures
personal viewpoint on how and analysis in case I needed to produce it. and for ‘marketing’ purposes.
why this reactor is being developed, I did not need to use it because nobody Also in that year, PBMR-supporter
on behalf of Energize, Chris Meyer challenged the figures.” President Thabo Mbeki was replaced
interviewed Dr Kelvin Kemm, the In 1993 the now retired Head of by Jacob Zuma. International anti-
chairman of Stratek Global (Pty) Ltd. Nuclear at Eskom, Prof. David Nicholls, nuclear sentiment was at its height, with
What follows is Dr Kemm’s account, conceived of the idea of building a nuclear disinformation being spread
largely in his own words, of how South African small modular reactor by activists at a great rate. In addition,
South Africa developed the world’s which did not need to be near a large the PBMR project leaders and nuclear
first commercial SMR, only to see the body of water. The then-CEO of Eskom, engineers did not tell the public or the
project stopped and other countries Allen Morgan, asked Dr Kemm to senior decision-makers much about the
start projects of their own. Dr Kemm discuss the idea with Prof. Nicholls project. This, and growing anti-nuclear
also explains how the HTMR-100 project and to carry out an assessment of the propaganda, resulted in the PBMR
started, and why this SMR is particularly viability and make a recommendation. project being put ‘on hold’. Most of the
well suited to the developmental Dr Kemm’s recommendation that the PBMR developers thought that it would
needs of South Africa and many other project be started resulted in Morgan only last a few months, but it has lasted
countries. initiating the PBMR project with a very until now.

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