By: ESI Africa

The Walvis Bay Town Council has conditionally allocated Portion 46, a 305-hectare parcel of industrial land, for the project, pending environmental and statutory approvals.

“Namibian authorities, supporting the Dune 7 Special Purpose Vehicle for Walvis Bay, have selected the South African HTMR-100 small modular nuclear reactor as Green Energy, to power its planned oil refinery in Walvis Bay,” said Stratek Global.

The company’s emissions-free advanced modular nuclear reactor technology has been selected to supply thermal heat and electricity to the 300,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) refinery to be built on the Namibian coast. 

“The project is a game-changing progression towards energy sovereignty not only for Namibia but also for the Sub-Saharan African regions, where over 600 million people still have no access to electricity,” the company said.

Stratek Global will also oversee the supply of interim power during the construction and initial stages, while all local and international nuclear regulatory requirements are complied with.

Project could benefit SADC region

The refinery forms a critical component of a broader integrated Green Energy Complex planned for Walvis Bay. It will also have a 4,000m3 per day desalination plant to support the water need of the complex.

“There is no reason why we cannot collaborate with Namibia to refine and beneficiate their resources to supply a region hungry for development.

“With a massive African market presenting itself, we believe that Namibia is well positioned to supply into the SADC region,” said Olivia Vaughan, Stratek Global Director of Commercial Affairs. 

Kelvin Kemm, Stratek Global Chairman, said that currently worldwide a limitation of most nuclear power plants is that they need to use the ocean, or a very large lake, for reactor system cooling.

“In contrast, we can put our High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor technology anywhere, we do not need large water. Another advantage of our small reactors is that up to ten of them can be placed on one site, and reactors can be added at any time as demand grows,” said Kemm. 

James Links, Executive Chairman of ISF Trading pointed out that Namibia is the only country in the world where women hold the three top government positions. 

“Namibia is also the second most law abiding country in Africa. ISF Trading is at the forefront of spearheading reforms in the Housing, Energy, and Oil and Gas Sectors of Namibia, and is committed to successful cooperation with the Namibian Government leadership to bring this game-changing nuclear plant to fruition,” he said.

South Africa is a pioneer in the development of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology, having started the development of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) in 1993.