I went to Port Elizabeth for a couple of days.

I had received various requests to travel to the coastal city. So, accompanied by my project coordinator, I went.

Our visit was related to nuclear power. One of the sites selected for the construction of one of the new nuclear power plants is near Port Elizabeth. It is called Thyspunt and is a prime candidate to be the first site to be given the go-ahead for a giant new nuclear plant. If this site is the first to be selected for the new nuclear build, it will be massively important for the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.

Government has indicated that there must be major localisation in the large nuclear programme. A figure of 50% for the first power station has been indicated. This is totally reasonable.

If the first plant is built at Thyspunt, this will mean that many localisation options can be initiated in the region. An important foundation of the localisation thrust is that it has been made clear that the localisation effort has to be aimed at the export market. One cannot expect the local industry to gear up to supply only the three nuclear power stations envisaged for South Africa, even though they will be some of the largest nuclear plants in the world.

The local industry has to be inspired by the magnitude of the world market. Currently, over 70 nuclear reactors are under construction around the world – and even more are in the planning stages. Nuclear is big business.

South Africa needs to get into this business in a big way. We need to move now. Already too much time has passed without enough action.

I was invited to visit Kevin Hustler, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, to discuss the nuclear opportunities. I was interested to learn that the chamber is the largest in South Africa. It struck me that, among chamber members, there is a spirit of enthusiasm and commitment. They are passionate about their region and its future.

Hustler emphasised chamber members’ eagerness to work with academics from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). They have already established certain formal links. I am pleased about that. It is the correct attitude.

For the manufacture and export of nuclear power plant components, it is an absolute necessity that the components be manufactured to international nuclear quality standards.

This means that the folks producing such components must have a path to understanding the very fundamentals of the production processes. This does not mean that every manufacturing company must have in-house experts in physics and chemistry – it does mean that they must know how to call on such expertise. That expertise is found in universities and other institutions of professional skill.

What this also clearly implies is that companies – large and small – can become producers of nuclear components. A small company of only half a dozen people can produce a range of components and can enter the export market – as long as the components are manufactured to the correct quality standards.

A university link is essential for this approach. The university has X-ray machines, electron microscopes, chemical analysis gear, and much more. Such gear is too complex and too expensive for most companies to possess.

Further, the expertise required to operate such high tech gear is significant.

I also met with a professor of NMMU and he indicated that his folks would be only too happy to collaborate with manufacturers along the lines explained by Hustler.

In a collaboration between Nuclear Africa and EON Consulting, of Midrand, we have produced a set of courses explaining nuclear quality assurance (QA) practice. This has already been initiated in the Midrand area and now we are taking the first two-day course to Port Elizabeth.

Directing a company towards nuclear manufacturing involves adopting a frame of mind. The nuclear QA frame of mind is ‘Do it right every time’. This is essentially the same as fabrication in other industries, such as aerospace and oil and gas. So, the nuclear QA course is applicable to industries such as these as well. In fact, most of the nuclear course is not specifically nuclear but rather relates to establishing the frame of mind and related culture in companies such that the staff are proud to work on precision production and, therefore, want to get it right.

The carrot approach works – not the stick. The whole Port Elizabeth region is ideally placed to get into nuclear manufacturing in a big way. They must now be shown the national vision so that they are excited and inspired enough to take the plunge and get going on this exciting path.

Nuclear power will be a major aspect of the global future, so, the sooner South African companies get into the business, the better for them and the country.