State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has secured approval, as well as R1.2-billion in funding, from government for the second phase of its multipurpose reactor, which entails doing the detailed design, Necsa Nuclear Operations and Advanced Manufacturing group executive Ayanda Myoli has told journalists.

The approval and funding indicated a high level of confidence from government that it was a viable project for the country and Necsa, he said in a media briefing on February 17.

The multipurpose reactor will produce radioisotopes for use in healthcare, the sale of which currently generates significant amounts of foreign currency and about 50% of the company's revenue, for commercial production at the Safari-1 research reactor, in Pelindaba.

“The multipurpose reactor is the Safari reactor, but on an industrial scale, and has a higher production capacity,” said Necsa group MD Thabo Tselane.

Further, Necsa subsidiary Pelchem is building a xenon difluoride reactor to add to the speciality fluoride materials it is already producing. Necsa's other subsidiary Nuclear Radioisotopes (NTP) is also busy building a facility to produce more isotopes, said Necsa Group CEO Loyiso Tyabashe.

These projects are part of Necsa's stabilisation, recovery and sustainability strategy, he noted.

The board approved this strategy in 2021, which helped Necsa to recover and become financially sustainable, with efficient operations and good governance. This provided it with a solid foundation and space to grow.

“We are refocusing on our core mandate of nuclear research and innovation to support the nuclear industry in South Africa. As part of the transition of the 'stability to growth strategy', the board approved six high-impact programmes two years ago, which are the next phase of our strategy,” he said.

The company had stabilised its finances, posting a profit over the past two years, and improved its performance to above 80%, and its delivery against the requirements of its shareholder, which is government, increased to 93%.

It also achieved clean, unqualified audits for it and its subsidiaries, with the remaining work being to address some of the findings made by auditors, said Tyabashe.

The first of the six programmes aimed to reestablish the front-end fuel supply chain in South Africa, including embedding itself and South African industry into the value chain.

The second programme looked at power generation from nuclear power, including research on small modular reactors. Necsa would also take over the pebble-bed modular reactor intellectual property from State-owned utility Eskom during this year, he noted.

The third programme was to extend the life of the Safari-1 reactor beyond 2030 to continue producing radioisotopes. Necsa was also building the multipurpose reactor to produce radioisotopes as the fourth programme.

Further, the fifth programme included the Pelchem and NTP expansion projects.

The final programme was to continue with training and skills development and capacity building to ensure the nuclear industry in South Africa had the skills it needed.

The company estimated that the six programmes would require investment of about R50-billion, although a more precise figure was only likely to be determined by the end of this year.

Necsa would also provide timelines for the projects by the end of the year, as part of its efforts to be transparent and share information with the public, committed Tyabashe.

“We see a positive trajectory and outlook for nuclear globally. We are not only operating for ourselves. There is a big appetite and the world needs more nuclear products, clean, cheap energy and isotopes for medical and nondestructive testing uses.

“Our turnaround since 2021 is based on our five pillars of excellence, accountability, safety, integrity and innovation. These have borne fruit, which is visible in our performance over the past two years.

“We have stabilised the organisation and now need to grow,” he said.