By Sanna Camara

Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) this year is celebrating 80 years of existence. The industry started in 1954 with the commissioning of the first civil nuclear power plant in Russia. Rosatom Central and Southern Africa CEO, Ryan Collyer, described 2025 as “a monumental milestone” in the Russian nuclear industry, urging African continent to embrace nuclear energy to to help it overcome energy poverty challenges and accelerate industrialization across the continent.

In a One-on-One interview with the Africa Association of Energy Journalists and Publishers, AJERAP on Friday from his South Africa office in Cape Town, Mr Collyer explained that nuclear energy has very key roles to play in Africa: “Even though I am an advocate of a diverse energy mix, including hydro, renewables and fossil fuels, I also believe that there is a place for nuclear power because of its affordability, sustainability, and environmental friendliness. It also has a unique place to play in South Africa where I was born and raised because we need to industrialize through the use of large amounts of electricity.”

In the past years, Rosatom CEO says they witnessed more African nations in general and sub-Saharan African nations in particular, showing more interest in nuclear power – these include some West African countries and their East African counterparts – that have made efforts over the years to implement nuclear projects.

“Ghana and Nigeria are very advanced in terms of their capabilities. They both, for instance, have, research reactors, very small research reactors, but still the experiences are there. They’ve worked through the International Atomic Energy Agency’s key milestone approach to a point where they can go to the market now and find a vendor that they want to build nuclear power plants with. The same could be said of some East African nations, especially Kenya,” he said.

“Rosatom plays key roles, especially in green electricity. These roles enable businesses, especially industrialization. In order to industrialize, we need large supply of electricity. So, whether you produce steel or other components, you want to be able to use a cleaner source of energy. It becomes quite difficult when you are looking at renewable sources in order to run large smelters. I really think that’s where nuclear comes in and that’s where, Rosatom, for instance, plays, and would continue to play, roles, in Russia and other countries, including African nations. For instance, we have a 4,800 megawatts project in Egypt. We have another project in Turkey, which is also 4,800 megawatts. We also have a number of other units in 10 different countries that are being contracted at the moment.”

Their journey has not been without challenges, having encountered some issues, including geopolitical challenges. “It is somewhat unfortunate,” Ryan Collyer said, “that they affect businesses, but we are a very robust and reliable partner… we haven’t forfeited, for instance, on any of our contractual obligations on what our clients require. We remain the largest exporter of nuclear, in the world,” he explained.

Accordingly, he said Rosatom understands the challenges on the African continent, particularly inadequate financing. “But I think we are very flexible as well, and we are able to work with our counterparts and partners to help them achieve their goals. I think it’s really important to understand that we partner with countries. It should be noted that bringing nuclear into a country takes years to build not only infrastructure but also the legislations and competences.”

“Countries need to look pragmatically at their options in terms of energy generation, weigh the options and come up with pragmatic and clear strategies. They should stick to their strategies and implement them. The best time to have started building a nuclear power plant was ten years ago. But the next best time is to do it now,” he said.