The Rwandan government has signed a nuclear energy generation deal with Canadian-German nuclear company, Dual Fluid.
The deal was signed by the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board (RAEB) and Dual Fluid Energy Inc.
The first outcome of the deal will be the construction of a demonstration Dual Fluid nuclear reactor in Rwanda, which was expected to be operational by 2026.
The reactor will be used to test the Dual Fluid technology, which is expected to be completed by 2028.
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The nuclear energy project will likely contribute up to 300 MW to the grid, according to RAEB CEO Ndahayo Fidele.
Dual Fluid aimed to realize an entirely new type of nuclear fission, based on liquid fuel and lead coolant, that could exponentially increase the performance of current nuclear power.
The new reactors will be used to produce electricity, hydrogen, and synthetic fuels at costs below those of fossil fuels.
Rwanda will meet its growing energy demand to boost the development of its industrial sector and build an economy that is resilient to climate change.
With the project, Rwanda will increasingly establish strategic cooperation partnerships with start-up companies involved in the design and development of small modular nuclear reactor technologies.
RAEB CEO, Ndahayo Fidele said:
“This deal is intended to expand Rwanda’s energy generation mix, Dual Fluid has patents to this technology, it will provide laboratory equipment and set it up, train our people in this technology and conduct tests.
“Next will be the construction of a plant to generate nuclear energy to be added to the grid.”
Another statement regarding the deal read:
“Rwanda is actively involved in efforts geared towards utilizing nuclear to generate energy, this comes in addition to the existing small modular reactor technology.”
The country faced the difficult task of narrowing the electricity access gap from the current 70 per cent to 30 per cent if it wants to reach its universal access target (52 per cent on-grid, 48 per cent off-grid) by the end of 2024.
It was estimated that approximately 44 per cent of Rwanda’s energy sources are renewable.
Currently, the total installed capacity of various power plants in the country is 332.6 MW.
51 per cent were heat sources, followed by water sources (43.9 per cent) and solar energy at 4.2%.
