Demand for electricity across Africa will grow many times over by 2050. Nuclear power is a potential source of clean power to drive industrialization and growing incomes, especially with new smaller, safer, and more flexible designs expected to come to the market over the next decade. But which African countries are ready for nuclear technology? And where will be the largest demand for additional power? The Energy for Growth Hub and Third Way created an interactive map that projects electricity demand and assesses nuclear readiness:

1. Only Egypt and South Africa are ready today (dark green)

• Egypt has awarded a $25 billion contract to Rosatom for a 4.8GW power plant, with construction expected to begin soon.
• South Africa already operates a nuclear power plant at Koeberg.

2. Seven more could be ready for nuclear by 2030 (light green)

• Algeria operates a research reactor and plans to commission a plant.
• Ghana operates a research reactor and aims to replace gas fired generation with nuclear power in the 2030s.
• Kenya is developing a policy organization and regulatory regime with aims to develop a 1 GW power plant by 2035.
• Morocco operates a research reactor, engages with the IAEA, and has long expressed interest in nuclear power for uses such as desalination and electricity.
• Nigeria operates a research reactor and has signed deals with foreign suppliers such as Russia to build a proposed 2.4 GW power plant.
• Sudan has engaged with the IAEA on an infrastructure review and signed agreements with supplier countries like Russia and China.
• Tunisia originally hoped to develop nuclear power by 2020 and has remained actively engaged with supplier countries.

3. An additional seventeen countries have taken steps toward becoming ready and could be potential markets by 2050 (yellow)

For more detailed information, our full checklist is here.