South Africa's nuclear energy spotlight: Leading the G20 conversation

What do we want to show the world? Do we want to show that we are ready to embrace our energy-transition responsibilities and open Africa to the potential of nuclear energy, or are we going to continue neglecting to lead and simply follow?

On 9 October, South Africa will take centre stage in the global energy conversation when the Department of Electricity and Energy co-hosts the 2025 G20 Nuclear Energy Ministerial Conference in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Are we ready for this responsibility?

I will be serving as both programme director and moderator during discussions that will examine the opportunities and challenges of scaling up nuclear deployment, advancing technology, and ensuring readiness for implementation.

This is our moment to prove that South Africa is not merely part of the global conversation but capable of leading it. The future will not wait for those who hesitate.

The G20 spotlight must not be used to appease, but to act. It must serve as a platform to demonstrate how South Africa can transform international attention into practical progress by leveraging the summit to align our energy ambitions with the urgent realities of water security and environmental resilience. Nuclear policy cannot stand apart from these; it must be embedded within them.

Never before has it been more critical to recognise how our essential resources - energy, water, and the environment - are interconnected. South Africa, with its unique challenges, stands at a decisive crossroads. We are grappling with energy shortfalls, water scarcity, and environmental degradation, each intensifying the others.

The energy-water-environment nexus is particularly significant for South Africa. Generating electricity consumes vast amounts of water for cooling, while water purification and distribution demand energy. How we manage these dependencies determines whether we deepen or relieve environmental stress.

Addressing one without the others is futile. That is why I believe nuclear energy, particularly through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), must form part of the solution. SMRs are smaller, adaptable reactors that can be built in stages and located close to where power is needed. They require far less water than traditional plants, occupy smaller footprints, and deliver steady, low-carbon energy. For South Africa, they can provide reliable power in regions where water is scarce while reducing our environmental impact.

We already have a foundation for this innovation in our Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) design, which is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor capable of generating both electricity and desalinated water. The high-temperature steam it produces allows for the co-generation of power and fresh water from seawater, tackling two of our greatest challenges at once. Such reactors can also produce green hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen without carbon emissions. That hydrogen can decarbonise heavy industry and long-distance transport while stabilising renewable-based grids.

In this way, nuclear technology becomes the bridge linking energy security, water stewardship, and environmental preservation. But technology alone is not enough. We must combine scientific insight with political will. South Africa must harness the intellectual capital within its universities and the ingenuity of its policymakers to turn research into practical solutions.

Universities must play a central role in shaping this transformation. At the North-West University (NWU), our researchers in sustainable energy, water management, and environmental science are generating the data and models that decision-makers need. By integrating these ideas into our curricula and outreach, we are shaping a generation of engineers, scientists, and policy experts who understand this nexus deeply. We are building bridges between academia, government, and society. They are the bridges that can carry South Africa towards a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future.

We need a holistic approach that delivers integrated solutions. Policymakers, researchers, and communities must work together, not in silos.

As I prepare to help lead the discussions at the G20 Nuclear Energy Ministerial Conference, my message is clear: South Africa cannot afford inaction. Our energy crisis, our water challenges, and our environmental pressures are converging. The solutions, too, must converge.

It is time to lead.

Professor Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU).

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.

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