Rwanda is betting on mining, AI, and data centres to secure future buyers for its planned nuclear power, as it moves to make its multi-billion-dollar SMR programme financially viable.

According to Paula Ingabire, the Minister of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda’s approach is not primarily about funding alone, but about building predictable demand that can support long-term investment in nuclear energy.

She said this on May 20 during the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa, speaking at a panel discussion themed "Mining, AI, Manufacturing: Anchoring the Case for Nuclear Energy Deployment.”

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"When you look globally, and I think this is not unique to Africa itself, you realize that traditional nuclear projects suffer from high upfront costs, connected to the grid,” she said.

"And so, as we think about industrial off-takers, whether it&039;s the mines, the smelters, data centers, what lenders are looking for is predictability. They're looking for 24-7 credit-worthy baseload demand,” she added.

Ingabire noted that the most suitable customers for nuclear energy are industries where power interruptions can cause major financial losses.

"The natural anchors are going to be data centers, advanced manufacturing, and mineral processing,” she said, adding that Rwanda is already planning ahead to align demand with its future SMR development.

The country is actively pursuing a $5–6 billion nuclear power programme to achieve operational SMRs by the early 2030s.

The minister explained that Rwanda is working backwards from its energy ambitions, identifying off-takers early so that the future power plant is already financially and economically viable once operational.

ICT energy demand

Ingabire also said Rwanda’s growing digital economy, including data centres, AI, and cloud services, is expected to play a key role in creating stable electricity demand for nuclear energy investments.

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She explained that the ICT sector is becoming a major consumer of electricity globally, particularly due to the rise of artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, which require uninterrupted power supply.

"You think about data centres, you need 99.999% uptime. What that means is that you need uptime flatline demand,” she noted, adding that AI in particular has been the primary constraint around reliable energy availability.

"Even simple AI queries consume far more energy than standard internet searches,” she added.

Ingabire said the country is positioning itself to attract hyperscalers such as global cloud and AI companies, which are increasingly seeking clean and reliable energy sources.

Rwanda is already investing in AI use cases across agriculture, health, education, and financial services to help build future demand for power.

"For Rwanda being a landlocked country and import-dependent country, especially when it comes to fossil fuels, investing in an SMR becomes a non-negotiable.”

Mining sector

Alice Uwase, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB), said the mining sector is both a potential major consumer and beneficiary of nuclear energy.

She explained that mining and nuclear industries are closely linked, as nuclear plants require minerals such as tungsten and other metals, while mining operations depend on reliable electricity for production and value addition.

"The mineral sector depends heavily on nuclear, the reliable energy from nuclear power plants.”

She noted that many mining operations in Rwanda are currently constrained by unreliable power supply, forcing some companies to rely on diesel generators despite being connected to the grid.

"SMRs could support the entire mineral value chain, from extraction to processing and refining, while also enabling value addition in sectors such as tungsten and lithium,” she added.

"We can have such SMRs supplying consistent, reliable energy to special economic zones where all the mineral refineries are, where the textile factories are, where the agro-processing industries are already setting up,” she said.