OREANDA-NEWS. ROSATOM presented an overview of the current trends in the development of nuclear energy as well as the company’s vision for South Africa, during the annual Nuclear Africa Conference held on the 18th and 19th of March 2015 at Necsa’s Visitors Centre in Pelindaba (North West Province).

This year’s conference was very well attended, dignitaries included the Minister of Energy, Mrs Tina Joemat -Pettersson, representatives of the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA), the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA), Director General of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano,  foreign delegates and South African universities.

Speaking at the conference, ROSATOM Director of the International Business Department, Nikolay Drozdov noted that there were a number of new developments within the Russian Nuclear Industry. One of these developments is the use of nuclear reactors for desalination purposes, and Rosatom believes this could be part of the solution to combat the ever worsening water crisis in Africa. Desalination facilities integrated with Russian-designed large capacity nuclear power plants constitute a new product of the Russian nuclear industry. “This was announced at the 2nd meeting of the Rusatom Overseas Expert Council on Desalination earlier this month. Special attention was paid to the business model of such desalination facilities as well as medical and biological assessment of the quality of desalinated water,” adds Drozdov.

Rosatom focuses on the technologies of multiple effect distillation (MED technologies) which mimic natural processes of evaporation and condensation of sea water. Just like other desalination technologies, MED technologies require significant amount of energy, and stable operation of desalination facilities depends on security of energy supply.

This year’s event also signified a momentous milestone in South African nuclear history, with the recognition of Safari-1 reactor’s 50th anniversary. “The fact that South Africa is the third largest producer of medical isotopes in the world is testament to the vast amount of experience, capabilities and professionalism present in this beautiful and diverse country,” said Drozdov.

Rosatom has ambitions to partner with local companies to create a full-scale nuclear cluster, of world class standards in South Africa, from the front-end of nuclear fuel cycle up to the engineering and manufacturing of complex power equipment. “In future this will allow South African companies to implement joint nuclear power projects in not only Africa but globally. We are also committed to the highest possible level of localisation and according to our first assessment this could reach as high as 60% on the final units and create as many as 15 000 direct jobs and 150 000 indirect jobs in related industries,” explains Drozdov.

“We confirm our intentions to participate in the procurement process for South Africa’s new build programme, and feel that our comprehensive approach to the construction of nuclear power plants sets us apart from the opposition. The company’s integrated offer contains a full range of the nuclear power industry products and services, including fuel supply for NPPs, management of its lifecycle, staff training and various financial solutions,” concluded Drozdov.

Director of International Business Development of United company NIAEP-ASE Dmitri Vysotski also noticed that “nuclear energy apart from energy source also generates jobs and promotes the development of the local industry, as well as the country's technological reputation”. “NIAEP-ASE in cooperation with NUKEM Technologies are especially ready to cooperate with South Africa in engineering and construction facilities”, added Dmitri Vysotski.