In July, a Nuclear Designers Forum was launched. This proposal was initially formulated by the company Resonant Nuclear, of Centurion. The company discussed the idea with Nuclear Africa and, together, we have started the Nuclear Designers Forum. It is a Web-based interactive system. I will return to the details.
On July 21, during her Budget Vote speech in Parliament, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said: “The nuclear expansion option is a central feature in our future energy mix.”
She was also very positive about South Africa’s ability to tackle major nuclear projects and said: “Our country’s track record in running a nuclear programme speaks for itself.”
South Africa is one of the oldest nuclear countries in the world, with an internationally respected record. This year, the Koeberg nuclear power station reached its thirtieth anniversary and, in 2015, the Safari 1 reactor at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, near Pretoria, celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. This reactor runs all day, every day, producing products for export, such as nuclear medicine and electronic silicon.
Government has made it clear that there must be a high degree of localisation in the nuclear build programme. The new nuclear power build programme that has been formulated represents a total of 9 600 MW of additional nuclear power capacity at three new nuclear power stations, each larger than Koeberg and consisting of two or three nuclear reactors. In fact, the figure of 50% localisation has been mentioned. This target represents massive industrial and financial benefits for South African companies.
However, to benefit from this great opportunity, it is necessary to start planning, in detail, right now. This also implies major input in the form of engineering design in all aspects of the nuclear build programme.
It is only with good design that the downstream industry can optimise its benefit and so benefit society as a whole.
Wide-ranging design expertise implies wide-ranging cooperation on the part of designers and others, such as industrial fabricators and suppliers, so that the designers know what inputs they have and what fabrication options exist now.
As a result, the Nuclear Designers Forum was launched.
The idea, as it has been formulated, is to create a Web-based interactive platform for people involved in the design and development of components and assemblies for the nuclear power programme.
The objective is for people to be able to trade ideas and to create inspiration for one another by means of a socially interactive platform. As much as people want to know what others can do, it is also necessary to know what others cannot do and, therefore, where collaboration between individuals or groups could lead to mutual benefit.
In this sense, the concept of collaboration includes information on sources of supply, economic considerations, patent constraints, finding existing skills, measurement techniques and general international nuclear knowledge.
The actual launch took place in the form of an evening function. We started outdoors around a fire in a boma, with snacks and drinks. There were about 45 people, many of whom already knew one another, but others did not.
We had intentionally thrown the guest list wider than the established nuclear community, in line with the goals of the forum.
Companies, in general, instinctively like to promote to the outside world what they can do. They promote their products. Companies tend to keep quiet about what they cannot do well, or about gaps that they perceive in their expertise.
However, to move into the fabrication of assemblies for the nuclear power programme, we need collaboration. Companies need to stretch themselves. This implies that their designers will need to reach out to find expertise in other companies. So, calling for assistance and collaboration must be seen as a positive move. It was with this in mind that some non-nuclear industrialists and other related people were invited to the launch.
Resonant Nuclear has grown out of a well-established collection of engineering design companies under the name of Resonant. I stood on the cement wall around the blazing fire to give a general welcome. Then Olof Vorster, a director of Resonant, took my place on the wall to explain about Resonant and the motivation behind the Nuclear Designers Forum.
We then moved into a thatched rondavel for dinner, during which Pierre van Deventer, of Resonant, made a brief slide presentation on how the system works. We had a great evening, and many new friends were made.
The website can be found at www.nucleardesign.org.