Small modular reactors (SMRs) are increasingly being positioned as Africa’s most practical nuclear option, with experts saying the technology offers a safer, more flexible and faster pathway to expanding electricity access on a continent facing rising demand and persistent energy shortages.

Experts say growing interest in SMRs reflects a broader shift in how nuclear power is being re-evaluated in developing economies.

They said this at the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa (NEISA 2026), held from May 18 to 21 at the Kigali Convention Centre.

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The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, pointed to Africa’s rapidly growing electricity demand alongside persistent access gaps across the continent.

According to him, this is why nuclear energy is becoming central to global energy security and development planning.

Grossi said small modular reactors (SMRs) are gaining recognition globally as part of future energy systems.

Small modular reactors are advanced nuclear systems designed to generate smaller amounts of electricity than conventional nuclear plants.

Unlike large-scale reactors that require high upfront investment and long construction periods, SMRs are factory-built and can be deployed in phases depending on demand.

Take Rwanda, for example. The country’s electricity access currently stands at 84.6 per cent, with per capita consumption estimated at 77 kilowatt-hours. It aims to achieve universal access and raise consumption to 1,026 kWh by 2035 and 3,080 kWh by 2050.

Energy planners say domestic generation capacity will not be sufficient to meet projected demand of 2.5 to 4.5 gigawatts by 2050, prompting efforts to diversify the energy mix.

Under its long-term strategy, the country is developing a nuclear energy programme in which SMRs are expected to contribute at least 110 megawatts in the early 2030s.

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SMRs are safer, faster

Energy expert Lassina Zerbo said Africa’s energy transition requires technologies that match the continent’s infrastructure realities while strengthening energy security and sovereignty.

He noted that SMRs and micro-reactors represent a new generation of nuclear technology designed to improve flexibility, safety and deployment speed.

"This technology offers greater modernity, enhanced safety, shorter construction timelines, and better adaptation to our national infrastructure,” he noted.

Zerbo highlighted that the technology could also go beyond electricity generation to support wider economic transformation.

"They open new possibilities, not only for electricity generation, but for industrialisation, clean hydrogen production, and digital infrastructure,” he added.

Africa’s power gap

Rwandan economist and Chairman of Southbridge Group, Donald Kaberuka, said Africa’s infrastructure development continues to face delays due to complex financing requirements, particularly under international investment frameworks.

"Even when the World Bank or the IMF try to do large-scale non-nuclear projects, it takes a long time because of a lot of ESG requirements. This becomes an issue for the shareholders of those institutions,” he said.

He noted that some countries are increasingly turning to domestic resource mobilisation to fund major energy projects.

He cited Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as an example. The country has just commissioned a 6,000 megawatt hydropower project on the Renaissance Dam, the biggest in Africa.

"They did not borrow money from international institutions. They mobilized resources internally and from other sources.”

Kaberuka also noted Africa’s fragmented energy landscape as a key challenge, noting that limited regional coordination continues to slow large-scale energy planning.

He cautioned against the perception that SMRs are low-cost alternatives, noting that while they are not cheap, they are also not necessarily prohibitively expensive compared to conventional nuclear projects.