Rwanda will host a company's 1st small-scale nuclear reactor testing carbon-free energy approach

abcnews.go.com:

Rwanda’s atomic energy board says it has signed a deal with a Canadian-German company to build its first small-scale nuclear reactor to test what the company claims is a new approach for nuclear fission

KIGALI, Rwanda — Rwanda’s atomic energy board says it has signed a deal with a Canadian-German company to build its first small-scale nuclear reactor to test what the company asserts is a new nuclear fission approach in one of the world's most densely populated countries.

Rwandan officials said Tuesday that the reactor won’t produce any electricity for the country’s grid. Instead, it will explore the technology developed by Dual Fluid Energy Inc. to address the need for cleaner sources of energy.

If all goes well, officials said, Rwanda and the company could set up a production line of such reactors in the central African nation as the country turns to nuclear power to help meet growing energy needs and adapt to climate change. Much of the country's electricity comes from hydropower and diesel plants, according to the Rwanda Energy Group, and only about 68% of people have access to electricity.

Dual Fluid Energy, founded in Canada in 2021, is one of more than 20 small modular reactor projects in development — using various approaches and fuels — that were assessed in a report this year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency.

According to the report, it's one of the projects in the earlier stages of development, including in licensing and sourcing a commercial supply of qualified fuel.

Small modular reactors in general differ from larger conventional ones by requiring less fuel, being safer, offering more flexibility in location and having the ability to be prefabricated and